‘He had his hand on my throat’

ARMOUR — Victims of two alleged attacks by an 18-year-old California man described the assaults Thursday at the Douglas County Courthouse in Armour.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit and restraints on his hands and feet, Brandon Joseph Boeding, of Fullerton, Calif., looked on as a 15-year-old girl from Brandon and Armour resident Dorthea Tesch, 74, described being assaulted on the morning of July 4.

Boeding, who earlier pleaded not guilty to first-degree burglary, two counts of simple assault and one count of consumption of alcohol by a minor, is accused of attacking the juvenile in her tent at the 4-H fairgrounds in Armour. The court record does not say why Boeding was in Armour.

He is accused of attacking Tesch shortly after the first attack as Tesch was on a morning walk.

Thursday, the juvenile took the stand and described how she woke up to Boeding holding her throat while sitting on top of her.

The juvenile was staying in a tent with her friend and her friend’s brother over the holiday weekend when Boeding allegedly entered their tent at approximately 6:30 a.m. on July 4.

“He was just staring at me and he had his hand on my throat,” the juvenile testified.

She said Boeding had a white tank top over his head at the time of the assault, and he briefly fled the tent before returning minutes later wearing a dark shirt. When Boeding saw the juvenile’s friend’s brother, Boeding fled the scene in a dirty white van, the juvenile testified.

The juvenile testified she had never seen Boeding before the incident in the tent.

Although the juvenile’s name was entered into public record, The Daily Republic chose not to report her name and protect her identity.

Taking the stand after the juvenile, Tesch said she left her home in Armour at approximately 7 a.m. July 4 to go for a walk. She testified she saw a white van driven by a man wearing a black mask as she began her walk.

“I just thought I must’ve seen something wrong,” Tesch said. “I didn’t think any more about it.”

Tesch again saw the van a few blocks later. It appeared to be “just waiting” at a stop sign, she said.

Minutes later, Tesch said she saw the van drive up and stop ahead of her on the side of the street. The driver then turned off his motor, she said.

“I was just sort of leery about this guy,” Tesch said.

After walking by the van, Tesch said she heard running behind her before she was pushed down. She said Boeding, wearing black material over his nose and mouth, then began beating her face and head.

Tesch estimates Boeding hit her approximately 20 times before neighbors heard her pleas and caused Boeding to flee the scene.

“It just kept happening,” Tesch said of the strikes.

During the attack, Tesch said she pulled the piece of material off her attacker’s face.

According to the police report, a black tank top was taken into evidence.

Tesch said she was left bleeding after the attack, had swelling on her face and was treated briefly at the Armour hospital. According to a police report, both the juvenile and Tesch later identified Boeding as their attacker.

Boeding showed little emotion during the hearing, although he did close his eyes momentarily as Tesch identified him as her attacker.

As a result of the testimony of both the juvenile and Tesch, Boeding was bound over to circuit court for a trial on the burglary and assault counts. Because minor consumption is a Class 2 misdemeanor, it can go straight to trial from a complaint.

Court documents show Boeding had a blood-alcohol content of 0.109 at the time of his booking. The legal driving limit in South Dakota is 0.08.

A date for Boeding’s next court appearance has not yet been set.

Boeding’s lawyer, Keith Goehring, asked that Boeding’s $100,000 bond be lowered, but the motion was denied.

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