A judge has designated a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged sex crime in northwest Missouri.

Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has been selected to handle the case in which a 14-year-old girl says she and a 13-year-old friend were raped in 2012 by then-members of the Maryville High School Football team. Felony charges against the alleged attackers were later dropped.

The case has gained national and international attention since an article detailing developments to date appeared in the Kansas City Star earlier this month. Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert Rice was criticized by some who said the charges were dropped due to political pressure. One of the accused boys is the grandson of a once-prominent politician.

Amid that scrutiny, the Rice asked last week that a special prosecutor be named to look into the case. He also denies that his decision to drop the charges was politically motivated.

The county prosecutor at the center of controversy in a sexual assault case in northwest Missouri has asked for a special prosecutor to look into it. Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert Rice says he has asked a judge to appoint a special prosecutor who can decide whether charges will be filed in the case.

Rice says he made the request after witnesses in the case said they would cooperate with the prosecution. He had earlier said they would not.

National and international attention has been on Rice since an article Sunday in the Kansas City Star detailed the alleged sexual assault of two girls, ages 14 and 13, in Nodaway County on January 8, 2012.

The accused attackers were then members of the Maryville High School football team, one of them the grandson of a once-prominent Nodaway County politician. That boy was originally arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

Barnett dismissed the charges in the case claiming a lack of evidence and additional information brought to his attention about the incident. He denies political influence played a role in his decision to dismiss those charges.