On January 8, 2025, Harry Risdon Lister, III, aged 62, of Grasonville, Maryland, was sentenced to 10 years to the Division of Correction with all after 27 days, time served, suspended for his conviction for second degree assault. Lister was also sentenced to thirty months of supervised probation, ordered to have a mental health evaluation and complete any recommended treatment, to abstain from alcohol and drugs, and to have no contact with the victim. Lister pled guilty, by way of a best interests or Alford guilty plea, before the Honorable Lynn Knight, Circuit Court Judge for Queen Anne’s County. The case was prosecuted by Lance G. Richardson, State’s Attorney for Queen Anne’s County. The sentence fell within the recommended sentence range as calculated by the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines, which recommended a sentence ranging from probation to six months of active incarceration. Sentencing guidelines are not mandatory or binding upon a judge but following them is strongly encouraged by the legislature to ensure consistency in sentencing throughout the State of Maryland. Mr. Lister’s conviction was based upon his actions on July 20, 2024, in Centreville, Maryland. The allegations specifically alleged that the victim, who was an adult female friend of Lister’s, had consumed two shots of Fireball Whiskey, which Lister had opened and given to her. The next thing the victim could recollect was waking up the next day naked and alone, with no recollection of the events of the night before. The woman called Lister and asked him if they had engaged in sexual intercourse without her consent and Lister responded by stating that it was okay because he didn’t ejaculate in her. The victim went to the Emergency Room in Queenstown where she submitted to a sexual assault examination which corroborated injuries to her genitalia. DNA was also collected. Lister was arrested and questioned by the police. He then stated that he did not have sexual intercourse with the victim because he did not have his Viagra, so he was unable to perform. Lister also said that had used protection but later recanted on that detail. At sentencing Lister’s attorney said he lied about those details so that he didn’t appear to be less of a man. Lister did admit to having sexual contact with the female victim, but he contended that the encounter was consensual. Ultimately the victim preferred, and asked, the State to offer the negotiated plea of second-degree assault as opposed to proceeding by way of a jury trial for the sexual offenses due to the difficulties of potential prosecution, unfortunately due to the lack of recollection by the victim. There was also a drug screen done by the hospital which did not detect any substance which would potentially negate her memory. The Nurse examiner did explain that the drug screen was for treatment purposes, and it wasn’t a forensic drug screening urinalysis so the test could have potentially failed to detect any incapacitating substances. Richardson stated that these types of crimes involving alcohol, a possible controlled substance or some incapacitating drug, are some of the most difficult cases to prosecute because they boil down to a ‘he said she said scenario.’ Often twelve jurors cannot reach a unanimous verdict in these types of cases. The ultimate outcome in this case was not the best-case scenario for the victim, however it did provide some measure of justice and closure for her. She also made an impassioned victim impact statement to the Court calling Lister a coward and a predator. Richardson also thanked, and praised, the excellent investigation conducted by the Centreville Police Department and Officers M. Hurd and J. Foster from the Centreville Police Department. The Office of the Public Defender represented Mr. Lister.
(Booking Photo of Lister)
