FORT PIERRE - Circuit Judge Mark Barnett of Pierre has moved a Stanley County lawsuit against state Sen. Dan Sutton of Flandreau to Sutton's home county.

The Moody County legislator is being sued by a former legislative page who alleges that Sutton sexually molested him in a Fort Pierre motel room.

Austin Wiese, who was 18 at the time, seeks at least $250,000 in actual damages plus punitive damages from Sutton, who was publicly reprimanded by the South Dakota Senate in January after the allegations first arose. Following lengthy hearings, senators said the molestation charges were never proven but that censure was appropriate because Sutton admitted he had shared a motel bed with the young man.

Sutton, 37, denied the allegations in a written response filed Thursday.