Last week Groff dismissed a felony sexual assault charge against a city teen-ager, finding that sexual assault laws don t cover kissing with the tongue.
State law defines sexual contact as intentional touching of sexual or intimate parts.
The tongue, Groff ruled, is neither sexual nor intimate. Groff s ruling doesn t set a binding precedent, but it can be cited by lawyers to support arguments in other cases. He was 16 at the time, but was certified to stand trial as an adult. Simard was tried on three charges, all involving the older girl, and was convicted on only one the French kissing charge. Prosecutors dropped the other charges before the trial in February, largely because the younger girl was reluctant to testify, court records show.