By Liz Kellar | Staff Writer
A Nevada County jury didn’t buy a defense argument that a 62-year-old man believed a BDSM contract meant he had his victim’s consent, finding him guilty Tuesday on all counts.
Wesley Panighetti erupted while the verdict was being read — guilty on three counts of sodomy by use of force, two counts of oral copulation by use of force, and one count each of criminal threats, first-degree burglary, attempting to dissuade a victim or witness, and misdemeanor battery — and was removed from court.
The jury also found true allegations of two prior violent felony convictions, in 1996 and 2015. Panighetti is set for sentencing on May 14 and is facing multiple 25-year-to-life terms, said Assistant District Attorney Chris Walsh.