Former Minot hotel clerk Mohammed Omer Siddiqui, 24, is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 12 on a charge that he raped a 14-year-old runaway girl last Halloween.

But now the defense is asking for the case against Siddiqui to be dismissed because the alleged victim has run away again.

Defense attorney Ashley Gulke alleges that the state sought to amend the charge against Siddiqui last month without notifying the defense that the girl was missing. Gulke writes that the state was required to notify the defense of information that could hurt its case against Siddiqui.

“The fact that Jane Doe has run away is exculpatory,” wrote Gulke. “…She is missing by no fault of the defendant. She is claiming rape. Her testimony is necessary as she is the only person to claim that she was raped and the defendant has a right to confront his accuser.”

The girl ran away from the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Minot last fall and has now reportedly run away from Social Services in another part of the state, based on a news report.

Gulke discovered that the girl had run away again when she did a Google search after being assigned the case and found a news report about the girl being missing. Gulke also notes in her brief that the girl looks and acts “well over the age of 15” and the girl’s absence would make it harder for her to make that argument in Siddiqui’s defense.

The North Dakota Century Code states that a defendant may not seek a deferred imposition of sentence at sentencing unless he has proved by clear and convincing evidence that he believed the victim to be older than 15.

Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney Marie Miller filed a motion to amend the charge against Siddiqui to include a couple of “ors.” The amended charge would still be a Class AA felony carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. However, under the proposed amendment, a jury could either find Siddiqui guilty of having sex with a girl under the age of 15, or of forcibly raping a girl under the age of 15, or of forcibly raping an alleged victim whose age is not mentioned at all.

Gulke had earlier filed a motion opposing the state’s attempt to amend the complaint.

Miller filed a motion on Monday opposing Gulke’s attempt to dismiss the case. In her brief, Miller wrote that she did not know the girl had run away again until she read Gulke’s brief.

Siddiqui, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge, has been held on $500,000 bond since last December.

According to court documents, the girl went to the Astoria Hotel early on the morning of Oct. 31, 2016. She had run away and was looking for a place where she could use the internet to find a ride and a place to stay with friends. Siddiqui, who goes by the nickname “Zac,” offered to let her stay in a vacant room, but told her he would kick her out if she did not have sex with him. She refused to have sex and thought he had given up. He later offered to bring her food and ordered something from Denny’s. She went back up to the room and Siddiqui again entered the hotel room and threatened to make her leave if she wouldn’t have sex. He then allegedly sexually assaulted the 14-year-old. The girl told a detective that Siddiqui physically forced her to perform a sexual act. She was afraid he would hurt her more if she didn’t comply and she wondered if he might be a sex trafficker.

A detective testified at the preliminary hearing that Siddiqui later gave the girl money for laundry and arranged for her to get a ride somewhere from Astoria Hotel staff. The girl was driven to the Holiday Inn Express, where she was found lying on a floor. She was turned over to the custody of the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. She disclosed the assault and was taken to Trinity Hospital for an examination. The detective said the girl later underwent a forensic interview. Detectives reviewed hotel security footage and what they saw corroborated the teenager’s account.