Police Video Of Wisconsin Man's Intercourse With Comatose Wife Fails As Court Evidence In Rape Trial

Madison, WI (AHN) - Rape charges against a Wisconsin man who had sex with his comatose wife is likely to be dropped after a court of appeals rejected Thursday a police video of the intercourse as evidence.

The District 4 Court of Appeals ruled that the video recorded at the Divine Savior Nursing Home in Portage in 2005 was illegally obtained by police and violated the constitutional right to privacy of David W. Johnson, 59.

Staff of the nursing home alerted police about possible sexual assault of Johnson's wife by her husband because the latter would close the patient's room every time he visits her. The police installed a hidden camera inside the room for three weeks and recorded the intercourses without Johnson's knowledge.

Based on the video, Johnson was later charged with felony sexual assault for having intercourse with a person without a consent.