SD State Senator Accused of Groping, Fondling Male Page

Excerpted from Sutton: Nothing Wrong With Sharing Bed With Page, by Chet Brokaw, published Jan 25, 2007, by Yankton Daily:

A state senator accused of sexually groping a male legislative page last February testified Wednesday night that he saw nothing wrong with sharing a motel bed with the lad.

Dan Sutton, D-Flandreau, is the subject of a special state Senate inquiry into an allegation that he fondled Austin Wiese, 19, now a college student.

“I didn’t do what Austin is claiming that I did,” Sutton told a lawyer hired by the Senate to grill him…

Asked whether he thought it was appropriate to climb into bed with his legislative page, Sutton responded that Wiese “was like a nephew or a son to me and my wife. I had no concern.”…

Asked directly Wednesday if he groped Wiese, Sutton responded several times: “I didn’t do anything.”

Sutton, who is in the insurance business, said he was shocked when Wiese called him on the phone and made the allegation.

“I was stunned in disbelief,” Sutton said. “All that was going through my mind was … my wife, my family, my career.”

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