Convicted sex offender files lawsuit against female RCPD officer for DNA swab

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - A 75-year-old man is suing the Rapid City Police Department and a female forensic examiner.

William Charles Belt was convicted in 2023 of sexual contact with a person incapable of consenting. He is imprisoned at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

Belt reportedly brought a 17-year-old girl into his Rapid City apartment in August 2021. Around 45 minutes later, the girl called 911 and said she had been raped. Rapid City police officers responded to the apartment and performed a court-ordered DNA swab on Belt’s hands and genitals. The girl’s DNA was found in both samples, and this evidence played a role in Belt’s conviction and subsequent five year prison sentence.

Belt and his attorney allege this DNA collection violated Belt’s Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. Belt is suing the City of Rapid City and the female forensic examiner who performed the DNA swab. Belt’s attorney cites a precedent from a 2007 lawsuit in New York City stating, “strip searches should be conducted by officials of the same sex as the individual to be searched.”

A spokesperson for the Rapid City Police Department disagreed with the use of the term “strip search” in this case, noting the DNA collection only took place after a search warrant was issued to investigate sexual contact with a minor.

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