The man arrested after 15-year-old Jessica Cheyanne Shearer died on July 4 has been formally charged with aggravated indecent liberties with a child, criminal sodomy with a child 14-16 years old and aggravated endangering a child. Joseph Jeffery Rykiel, 30, made his first appearance Tuesday in Barton County District Court, before District Judge Hannelore Kitts. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 10 days, and the preliminary hearing was set for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 25.
Rykiel formally charged with three felonies