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Judge denies Woodlock’s request for a competency evaluation ahead of abuse trial

Judge denies Woodlock’s request for a competency evaluation ahead of abuse trial

James Woodlock is arraigned via video as Judge William Lyons presides at right, Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Manchester, N.H. District Court, in connection with sexual abuse allegations at the Sununu Youth Services Center, a state-run youth detention center. Six former staffers at New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center were arrested Wednesday in connection with the abuse of 11 children over the course of a decade. Photo: Associated Press/AP Photo/Elise Amendola, Pool


CONCORD, N.H.- A judge has denied a request for a competency evaluation for James Woodlock, a former employee at the Sununu Youth Development Center convicted of being an accomplice to the rape of a teenage resident back in the 1990s while he prepares to for another trial on similar charges.

According to court documents, Woodlock’s attorney back in April made the request as he claims his client is suffering from psychological issues, resulting in issues like not being able to remember conversations or what took place in his previous trial, making him unable to stand trial.

In his decision William Delker notes that he came to his decision on the request, in part after listening to a number of Woodlock’s recorded phone conversations with his wife and sister.

Woodlock is currently serving a sentence of 20 to 40 years after being found guilty on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and is due back in court in November in a new trial on two additional counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault.

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