BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Vermont’s high court has overturned the conviction of a Shaftsbury man accused of repeatedly sexually touching a girl when she was 4 to 6 years old.
Police in Pennsylvania arrested 42-year-old Lamar Scales in 2013 on charges he sexually assaulted the girl at least 15 to 20 times.
Scales was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison after jurors convicted him of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
The Rutland Herald reports (https://bit.ly/2krORuC ) the state Supreme Court reversed that conviction last week and returned the case to the trial court.
The high court says prosecutors improperly used “consciousness-of-guilt” evidence and wrongly asked jurors to place themselves in the girl’s shoes.
State’s Attorney Erica Marthage’s says no decision has been made about whether to bring Scales back to trial.
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Information from: Rutland Herald, https://www.rutlandherald.com/
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