S.D. Senate panel recommends censure for lawmaker accused of groping a page

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) _ A state Senate panel Friday recommended the censure of a lawmaker accused of groping a male page in a motel room bed. <br/><br/>The full Senate could vote next week on the proposed

Friday, January 26th 2007, 2:54 pm

By: News On 6

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) _ A state Senate panel Friday recommended the censure of a lawmaker accused of groping a male page in a motel room bed.

The full Senate could vote next week on the proposed punishment for Democratic Sen. Dan Sutton. Censure would carry no loss of the politician's powers.

The nine-member panel could have recommended instead that the lawmaker be expelled or exonerated. The vote for censure was 6-3.

Austin Wiese, now 19, testified that Sutton, a longtime family friend, touched his genitals through his shorts while the two shared a king-size bed at a motel last February. The young man was 18 at the time. No criminal charges have been filed.

Sutton acknowledged sharing a bed with the young man but denied groping him.