SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- A jury trial got under way Tuesday for a work-release inmate in South Dakota who's accused of raping the girlfriend of a former cellmate.
The Argus Leader reported that 29-year-old Henry Ricky Anfinson was indicted last May on one count of rape by force and one count of first-degree burglary. If convicted as a repeat offender, he could spend life in prison.
Prosecutors say Anfinson made an unannounced visit to the 31-year-old woman's home on May 7 and then raped her in the bathroom as her children sat in the living room.
"The man said something to her like 'I shouldn't be around you,'" Minnehaha County Deputy State's Attorney Tom Hensley told jurors during opening statements. "He then started fondling her."
From there, Hensley said, Anfinson forcibly raped the woman, leaving bloody fingerprints on the bathtub afterward.
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But defense lawyers say the sex was consensual and that the woman invited Anfinson to come to her house between visits to potential job sites. They also say that Anfinson helped the woman shoot methamphetamine.
"He was 75 days away from completing his sentence at that time," said Minnehaha County Deputy Public Defender Michelle Thomas.
The trial is expected to last through the week.
