A 78-year-old South Dakota man is facing criminal charges for alleged sexual contact with his nine-month-old relative, local outlet Mitchell Republic reported Monday.
Ronald LaFortune is facing up to 15 years in jail and $30,000 in fines, according to the outlet. He was charged with sexual contact with a child under 16 (a Class 3 felony) following the incident that allegedly took place the night of Sept. 19, Mitchell Republic reported. A trial date has been set for February 2024 after LaFortune pleaded not guilty to the charges at his Oct. 24 arraignment, per the outlet.
LaFortune is accused of “initiating certain contact of a sexual nature” with the nine-month-old relative he’d been babysitting, Mitchell Republic reported, citing court documents with a statement from the Mitchell Police Department. The child’s father, who had allegedly left the house, subsequently observed LaFortune on the baby monitor, according to the outlet. The alleged explicit contact continued for roughly a minute, per Mitchell Republic.
Mitchell man, 78, charged with engaging in sexual contact with infant relative https://t.co/tKH8p6oi1t
— Mitchell Republic (@dailyrepublic) November 6, 2023
When the child’s unnamed father “realized what was happening in the video he spoke through the camera to get it to stop,” the outlet reported, citing court docs. He then allegedly kicked LaFortune out of the house. (RELATED: Deputy Director At Juvenile Detention Facility Fired, Higher-Up Reassigned After Alleged Sexual Assault Of Child)
LaFortune reportedly confessed to the alleged sex crimes as police conducted their investigation, saying he did it for his own “gratification,” per Mitchell Republic. He insisted it was an isolated incident, according to court docs cited by the outlet, and a search of South Dakota court records reportedly did not reveal any prior offenses of a sexual nature associated with LaFortune.