Jury Trial to Start Monday for Man Charged With Sexual Assault of a Minor

A hearing was held Tuesday in Fourth Judicial District Court in Sheridan to address a number of motions filed by legal counsel in the case against David Ingersoll, who is scheduled to stand trial next week. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

Ingersoll was arrested and charged last year with with Sexual Assault of a Minor in the Second Degree for an alleged incident that occurred in July of 2019. The victim was 15 years of age. The trial was originally scheduled for last November, but was vacated at the time due to the spike in local cases of COVID-19. Sheridan County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christina White, at Tuesday’s hearing, said the victim in the case has expressed concerns to her about several individuals that may harass her during the trial. District Court Judge John Fenn said that kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the courtroom and that he would not hesitate to issue a contempt of court order if it were to occur.

Judge Fenn also took under advisement a motion filed by the prosecution to enter into evidence information about “a prior bad act” where the defendant allegedly committed a similar offense in Johnson County in August of 2019. Ingersoll’s attorney, Anna Malmberg argued that since her client has not been charged as the result of the incident, it should not be admissible as evidence at trial. Judge Fenn said he would rule on the matter the morning of the trial. 

Judge Fenn said all of the pandemic protocols that were in place for the two jury trials held last August will be followed that include approximately 50 prospective jurors that will be broken up into two groups of 25, with each group being in the courtroom for the jury selection process, one group in the morning, and one in the afternoon. There will be a seating chart for the prospective jurors to ensure social distancing guidelines are being followed. 

The jury pool will be pre-screened for any symptoms of COVID-19 before entering the courtroom, and temperature checks will be done daily during the trial. Aside from those seated at the tables where the prosecution and the defendant will be seated, everyone will be required to wear a face covering during the trial. Legal counsel and the defendant can choose to wear a facemask while not speaking if they wish. The weeklong jury trial is scheduled to begin on Monday morning. If convicted, Ingersoll faces up up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.