RAPID CITY (AP) – A former South Dakota state senator has pleaded not guilty to making a false domestic violence report against her husband.
Lyndi DiSanto appeared in court Thursday when she entered the plea after being charged by the Pennington County State’s Attorney Office. A conviction carries up to a year in jail.
Court records show she and Mark DiSanto, a Pennington County commissioner, are going through a divorce.
Prosecutors say Lyndi DiSanto, also known as Lynne, said her husband assaulted and choked her and punched a hole in the bedroom door when she arrived at their Box Elder home Jan. 6 to collect some belongings, the Rapid City Journal reported.
She also said her husband had abused and threatened to kill her before, but she never called police because he was a county commissioner.
Mark DiSanto disputed that account and said there was no violence during their seven-year marriage.
Lyndi DiSanto resigned from the state Senate last December. She previously served in the state House from 2015 to 2018.
