Lawmaker sued for allegedly groping a male legislative page...

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Oct 2 2007 3:45PM
Associated Press

Lawmaker sued for allegedly groping a male legislative page

(Note contents) FORT PIERRE, S.D. (AP) State Senator Dan Sutton of Flandreau has been sued for $250,000 in damages by former legislative page Austin Wiese (WEES), who alleges Sutton groped him in a motel room in Fort Pierre.

Wiese's lawsuit alleges two counts of sexual battery and one count of sexual assault. It's a civil lawsuit no criminal charges have been filed.

The suit claims Sutton invited Wiese to stay with him at the motel during the 2006 session.

Court documents say they shared the one bed in the room and that on three nights in a row, Sutton inappropriately touched and fondled Wiese, who then moved out of the room.

Wiese, now 19, says he has suffered mental anguish, shame, indignity, embarrassment, pain and suffering.

He's being represented by former Congressman and Governor Bill Janklow.

Early this year, the state Senate held a hearing on the allegations. The Senate then voted to censure Sutton rather than expel him.

(Thanks Tony Mangan, KCCR, Pierre) (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-02-07 1533CDT |

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Comments Posted by KXNet.com Users

Posted by Steve on Oct 4 2007 10:16AM - I find it odd that the words "Democrat" and "Democratic" do not appear anywhere in the article. Were Sutton a Republican, the headline would have read: "Republican gropes male page" and we would have been treated to wall-to-wall coverage from all the media outlets. Now, in typical fashion, the media has again revealed their bias.

How long did we talk about Senator Craig and his lewd and inappropriate - yet not illegal - messages to pages? Now, when a page has actually been sexually groped, there is barely a peep.

Posted by John Bolton's Mustache on Oct 4 2007 12:50PM - Steve,

You expect accurate and un-biased reporting from the liberal MSM??
And to set the record straight, Craig was arrested for alleged lewd
conduct in a bathroom in a Minnesota airport and pled guilty to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct. He is now trying to have his plea overturned.

Posted by Brent on Oct 4 2007 1:00PM - Of course. If we have yet another installment of the "Guess the Perp's Party" game, it must be another Democrat caught red handed.

Really. The bias displayed by the media is breath taking.

Posted by Richard on Oct 4 2007 1:07PM - So, this groper was a Republican, right? You just forgot to mention that, didn't you.

What? He was a .......democrat? You didn't forget to mention his party at all, you neglected to.
Some "News Team".

Posted by Ken on Oct 4 2007 1:35PM - Let's play Name That Party! Which party is represented in this article, Republican or Democrat? Does the AP stylebook actually have rules for reporting the party affiliation of ne'er-do-well politicians and that it is a cardinal sin to mention "democrat" when the offender is in that party?

I don't know if Sutton is openly gay or not, and if not, will the usual chorus of "hypocrisy" get screamed at him from the must-out-all-straight-acting-homosexuals-in-congress folks?

Posted by matt foley on Oct 4 2007 1:38PM - steve's right on. this is crazy.

Posted by Debby on Oct 4 2007 2:17PM - Yeah funny how if there's a D after their name it's always invisible-way to "report" the story

Posted by Dr Dean on Oct 4 2007 2:43PM - I was a sceptic on the 'name that party' syndrome in the media, but the facts speak for themselves. Why is it so hard for so many so-call journalists to do the right thing? Not only does such reporting demonstrate a lack of integrity and party-affiliation-bias, it is stupid. Do you think that if you don't report a democrat perp's party affiliation that it is not ever going to come out?

Posted by E-man on Oct 4 2007 2:49PM - Of course there is no mention of the party...Did you guys forget that Ds stand for no maorality, decency, honesty or integrity? They can do whatever the heck they want because they never stand for anything, other than "Bush Lied" and taxation. They are the party of scum, so no party ID is needed.

Posted by Jim on Oct 4 2007 3:56PM - It's comical.

"Politician Unaffiliated With Any Party Gropes Page; Party Affiliation Unimportant Anyway"

I wonder who you people think you're fooling.

Posted by what gives on Oct 4 2007 3:59PM - Why, at 18, would you stay in a motel room with only one bed with a grown adult? Now there's something to ponder.

Maybe Wiese moved out because he thought Sutton wasn't doing it right, and now this is how he gets back at him. Maybe he should just shack up with him again and explain how he likes it.

Posted by joe89 on Oct 4 2007 6:32PM - there is a reason that there have never been any charges.....perhaps people should ponder why that would be....perhaps because Sutton DID NOT grope Wiese. Ponder that and think about if this happened to you. It is all about money and it has been from the start.

Posted by joeindc44 on Oct 4 2007 6:42PM - You know, a simple google search reveals that this sutton fellow happens to be a [this comment edited for space considerations, ed.] So now you know.

Posted by someombudsman on Oct 5 2007 5:54AM - Wow,

Even fairly casual readers are correctly lambasting this report as quite revealing of the intentional bias on display in your newsroom.

It must be embarassing for the professional reporters who work for you to have to come to work every day knowing they can't just report the news straight and let the chips fall where they may.

Must be quite depressing indeed.

Posted by happyfeet on Oct 5 2007 10:14AM - (Note contents) it says ... AP's subtle way of suggesting this story should not be given too much prominence ... for the children, you know.

Posted by jerseycorn on Oct 5 2007 5:28PM - This article is an early "rip and read" version of an AP wire service story all of you who are complaining about the word "Democrat" not being in this article should be happy to know that a version posted ONE HOUR LATER identified Sutton as a Dem http://www.kxmc.com/News/167721.asp:

A former legislative page filed a lawsuit today, alleging that state Senator Dan Sutton, a Flandreau Democrat, sexually fondled him last year in the motel room they shared in Fort Pierre.

Then again, you all will probably want to keep your head stuck in the sand and bash that gosh darn "liberal media."

Posted by Yikes! on Oct 8 2007 9:14AM - Weise spent three nights of "groping" with this guy? At what point do you stand up for yourself? The third morning he felt ashamed? I dont think Weise came for the 2006 session. He was invited to spend the night in a hotel room with another guy...in one bed... I dont think it's about being dem or rep...I think its about being something else!

Posted by Simian Ape on Oct 16 2007 8:37AM - '... represented by former congressman and governor Bill Janklow."

He's the lawyer I would want to handle my legal affairs. Bill Janklow was driving drunk, speeding over 70 mph, ran a stop sign, hit a motorcyclist and killed him. He received a 100 day sentence.

That's justice in America. Any other joeblow would have gone to prison.

Posted by poeticjustice on Oct 18 2007 11:38PM - The third morning he felt ashamed . . . and still hasn't pressed criminal charges. I wonder if this page is a republican?

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