Bootheel man's conviction upheld

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A unanimous Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a Malden, Mo., man's conviction for forcible sodomy of a 16-year-old girl.

James R. Niederstadt was convicted in early 2000 of the felony count following a bench trial before Scott County Circuit Court Judge David A. Dolan, who sentenced Niederstadt to 25 years in prison. The case was moved from Dunklin County on a change of venue.

The Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District in Springfield later overturned Dolan's ruling, saying that the evidence was insufficient to prove Niederstadt used force to compel the sexual act.

The high court's ruling, penned by Judge John C. Holstein, reverses the southern district decision.

"The evidence here clearly show that several acts of deviate sexual intercourse involving physical force were committed," Holstein wrote.

Niederstadt, released from prison in 2001 after his conviction was overturned, will return to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The victim, identified in the opinion as S.C., was sent to live with Niederstadt and his family in 1991 by her parents, missionaries to West Gambia, Africa.

According to the court record, Niederstadt began making sexual advances toward the girl shortly after she arrived. However, the sodomy for which Niederstadt was convicted occurred in 1992, when the girl was 16. Niederstadt wasn't charged for the crime until 1998 as S.C. didn't come forward with her allegations until she was in college.

In his appeal, Niederstadt argued that the alleged act didn't involve force or threat and thus couldn't be forcible sodomy.

However, the Supreme Court, in reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, said other acts by Niederstadt, including that he had whipped the girl for getting into trouble at school, and his position of authority over her supported the prosecutor's claims.

Totality of circumstances

Holstein wrote the court must consider the totality of circumstances in determining if there was a threat or force used.

"The girl was wholly dependent on defendant for her subsistence," Holstein wrote. "Due to the beatings and fear of further violence, she was afraid to report the incidents to authorities. It's fairly inferable that the same fear that kept her from reporting the sexual assaults also was likely to overcome her ability to resist those assaults."

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