White Man Cleared in 'Lakota 57' Case

RAPID CITY, S.D. (CN) - A South Dakota judge cleared a white man of disorderly conduct charges after he was accused of dousing Native American children with beer and insults at a hockey game.

Trace O'Connell, 41, was in a box suite at a Rapid City Rush home game on Jan. 24. Witnesses claimed he spilled beer on a group of 57 Sioux middle school children below his balcony. One chaperone said he told them to "go back to the rez," but the judge found no corroboration for that allegation.

The children went to the game from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as a reward for exceptional academic performance, according to the Lakota Country Times.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/09/08/white-man-cleared-in-lakota-57-case.htm