Dog Accompanies Victim On Witness Stand For First Time In Minnesota

By WCCO Staff, CBS Minnesota

July 21, 2023

STEARNS COUNTY, Minn. -- For the first time in Minnesota, officials allowed a dog to accompany a young victim to the witness stand during testimony.

Fifteen other states have already codified the use of facility dogs in court.

As a result of the trial, Jairo Missael Fernandez Sorto, 38, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under the age of 16.

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