Rapid City Sex Offender Accused of Illegal Petitioning

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A state law prohibiting convicted sex offenders from circulating petitions is being used to prosecute a Rapid City man banned from petitioning on county property more than a year ago.

The Rapid City Journal reports 75-year-old Dallas Krausch is on the state's Sexual Offender Registry because of a 1986 conviction for having sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl.

Krausch has contracted to circulate petitions for several years, but his alleged aggressive approach drew complaints at the Pennington County Courthouse in 2011. Commissioners in November 2011 barred him from circulating petitions on county property.

Krausch is now being prosecuted for allegedly collecting petition signatures on April 11 at a public library.

Defense attorney Dennis Groff says he's working with prosecutors to resolve the charges against his client.