Some might wonder why the November election for Brookings County state’s attorney is important. For me, it became quite apparent a few months back. There has been a lot of back and forth about experience leading up to this election. 

As part of that back and forth, I think it’s important to highlight that Teree Nesvold has never conducted a jury trial as lead counsel. Since graduating from law school in 2014, she has never presented a case to a jury as lead counsel. You may ask why that is important or why it matters. 

Let me tell you why it matters to me.

Daniel Kramer raped a 2-year-old in our community. Mr. Kramer also had been previously charged with felony child abuse and had a conviction for burglary. While Nesvold was working in the state’s attorney’s office, the case was reduced from a felony child abuse charge down to a misdemeanor. That means prior to be indicted in April 2017 for raping a 2 year old, he already showed that he had a habit of preying on children. But that’s only half the story. What unfolded during this rape case is a shocking and unbelievable miscarriage of justice. 

Nesvold allowed the rapist to continue denying what he did by accepting a “no contest” plea and agreeing to limit the number of years to 15.

The facts of the incident are horrific. Kramer’s DNA was found in the victim’s mouth. It was his own daughter. Nesvold told the judge that the state’s evidence showed the defendant engaged in a sexual act to cause the DNA to be found inside the mouth. The public needs to have all the facts of this case to understand. After the public outrage a few months ago, Nesvold went on record saying she thinks those facts are circumstantial. (see Register article on Aug. 16). I may not be a lawyer, but do you believe that Kramer’s DNA found in a 2-year-old’s mouth is just circumstantial evidence?

Nesvold further stated that he’s going away for a minimum 15 years. (see Register article on Aug. 16). But what isn’t told in the stories is that Kramer will not serve anything close to 15 years. According to the judge, Kramer will be eligible for parole. South Dakota law says he’ll be eligible for parole after serving only 65 percent. Kramer got credit for 619 days locally, so he’ll be eligible for parole in approximately eight years. That isn’t a minimum of 15 years. Not even close.

Third, Nesvold indicated it would be difficult to get a conviction at trial so she had to make this deal. What is she basing that on? 

When I searched the South Dakota Unified Judicial System, I wasn’t able to find any evidence to indicate she’s conducted a single jury trial as lead counsel. She told the judge that Kramer performed a sexual act on the 2-year-old and that his DNA was found inside the mouth. 

I have met this child, and it makes me sad to think any child would ever have to go through this situation. If we don’t stand up for the innocent, who will?  As a parent and concerned citizen, we can’t afford to have inexperience result in injustice. After this case, we’re left with a child predator who could return to our community when the victim is just turning 12 years old. Is that justice? You decide. The inexperience of Nesvold means Kramer could come back to our community. After the handling of the Kramer case, I realized why experience does matter and the decision on who to support became easy.