Opinion ID: 1678927
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Incident Four

Text: The last encounter, in T.B.'s narrative, occurred on the night of a steak fry party. In the machine shop, Wurtz grabbed T.B., forced him onto the couch again, and then grabbed T.B.'s hand. Wurtz, essentially, masturbated himself with T.B.'s hand, to the point of ejaculation, after which he let T.B. leave. T.B., at trial, was uncertain as to the date this event occurred, and linked it only to the night of the steak fry. T.B.'s explanation for his continued association with Wurtz was that Wurtz had taught him about vehicle repair, which he enjoyed. His mother testified that T.B. had great difficulty in relating these events to her, crying often. In an Information filed September 22, 1987, Wurtz was charged with four separate counts of sexual contact with a child, under SDCL 22-22-7, which provides: Any person, fourteen years of age or older, who knowingly engages in sexual contact with another person, other than his spouse when such other person is under the age of sixteen years is guilty of a Class 4 felony. If the actor is less than three years older than the other person, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The parts of the Information relevant to this appeal read as follows: COUNT ONE (FIRST INCIDENT) That between December 15, 1986 and March 1, 1987, in the County of Edmunds, State of South Dakota, Rueben [sic] M. Wurtz, did commit the public offense of sexual contact with child under 16 in violation of SDCL 22-22-7 in that he did knowingly engage in sexual contact with [T.B.], a child under the age of 16 years, a Class Four felony. COUNT TWO (SECOND INCIDENT) That between December 15, 1986 and March 1, 1987, in the County of Edmunds, State of South Dakota, Rueben [sic] M. Wurtz, did commit the public offense of sexual contact with child under 16 in violation of SDCL 22-22-7 in that he did knowingly engage in sexual contact with [T.B.], a child under the age of 16 years, a Class Four felony. COUNT THREE (THIRD INCIDENT) That between December 15, 1986 and March 1, 1987, in the County of Edmunds, State of South Dakota, Rueben [sic] M. Wurtz, did commit the public offense of sexual contact with child under 16 in violation of SDCL 22-22-7 in that he did knowingly engage in sexual contact with [T.B.], a child under the age of 16 years, a Class Four felony. COUNT FOUR (FOURTH INCIDENT) That between December 15, 1986 and March 1, 1987, in the County of Edmunds, State of South Dakota, Rueben [sic] M. Wurtz, did commit the public offense of sexual contact with child under 16 in violation of SDCL 22-22-7 in that he did knowingly engage in sexual contact with [T.B.], a child under the age of 16 years, a Class Four felony contrary to the statute in such case made and provided against the peace and dignity of the State of South Dakota. An Amended Information was filed at a pretrial conference, on November 17, 1987. This new document, to which defense counsel did not object, extended the time frame of each of the alleged offenses for an additional month (from December 15, 1986 to April 1, 1987).