State v. Bariteau
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual contact with a child under sixteen years of age. Defendant appealed, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction and that the prosecutor committed misconduct by making a misstatement of law during closing arguments. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant’s act of pressing his erect penis against the victim's buttocks constituted sexual contact and, as a result, a violation of S.D. Codified Laws 22-22-7, and thus, the circuit court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal; and (2) the prosecutor’s closing argument was not erroneous and did not constitute prosecutorial misconduct.
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