Lower Brule man gets prison in sexual contact case

LOWER BRULE — A Lower Brule man was sentenced Feb. 25 to 15 months in prison for abusive sexual contact.

Merle Wilson, 56, was indicted Aug. 14 by a federal grand jury and pleaded guilty Nov. 30. Once released from prison, Wilson will spend five years on supervised release.

The charge stems from an incident occurring on July 30 in which Wilson and the victim were consuming alcohol.

The victim realized she was intoxicated and after arriving home, passed out on the couch in the living room area, fully dressed. Wilson came to the victim’s home mid-morning and saw her passed out on the living room couch.

The victim awoke and found herself naked from the waist down with Wilson on top of her. Wilson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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