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January jury trial set in child enticement case
Steven Cotter
Steven Cotter

DARLINGTON — A January jury trial is scheduled for a Darlington man charged with numerous felony sex crimes, including child sexual assault and child enticement.

Steven Hartwell Cotter, 25, faces 20 felony charges in Lafayette County related to alleged sex with a minor and images from his phone. He faces similar charges in Green County, but that case is on hold until after the Lafayette County case is done. 

His attorney, Robert Duxstad, filed a motion in February to suppress evidence from a phone seizure related to the Lafayette County case. Duxstad argued that police seized Cotter’s phone and its contents during an illegal detention and without a proper warrant, in violation of Cotter’s constitutional rights.

Lafayette County Judge Duane Jorgenson denied the motion Oct. 14 after an Oct. 7 evidentiary hearing during which he said he “listened to hours of testimony of how information is stored” in smartphones.

“We’ve certainly heard a lot about cellphones in this case. Cellphones are the unique devices of our age ... complex devices with an incredible amount of information. They are computers that systematically keep track of (users and their activities).

“It is no longer a phone. It acts as a map,” Jorgenson said, adding that he was mindful of the highly private information stored in a smartphone.

But he denied Duxstad’s motion and ruled the warrant and phone seizure in Cotter’s case were “quite reasonable.”

Jury selection is set for Jan. 22, with a jury trial to follow Jan. 25 to 29.

Due to physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is planned to be held in the Lafayette County Multipurpose Building on Ames Road, instead of the courthouse.

“We have the capacity to bring in 80 people and socially distance,” Jorgenson said. But, “with the (COVID-19) numbers we’re seeing, we may end up having to back this up.”

The court is planning for 12 jurors plus three alternates. Jorgenson said he anticipated some jurors asking to be excused due to being part of a vulnerable age group or having pre-existing health conditions. 

“I’m going to have to be pretty liberal in excusing folks from jury duty under the circumstances,” he said. Planning a jury trial during a pandemic is unprecedented for the court and “we’re making a lot of this up as we go along.”