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Klaudt Found Guilty

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Nancy Naeve

A former South Dakota lawmaker from Walker faces up to 100 years in prison after his conviction on 4 counts of second degree rape. KSFY was there when Ted Klaudt was found guilty of raping his foster daughters.

 

The 12 person jury deliberated about 3 hours at the Hughes County Courthouse before returning to the 3rd floor courtroom to deliver its verdict.   Ted Klaudt remains free on bond after the verdict was read. He didn't say anything to reporters as he hurried away from the courthouse. Later his attorney Tim Rensch talked about the verdict. He said he wishes they would have won.

Rensch says the verdict will hurt going into Klaudt's next trial on similar charges. That trial starts next week on similar charges in Corson County where Klaudt resides.

State prosecutor Patty DeVaney says this was a case of rape even if it was not forcible rape as the defense tried to point out to jurors. She says it was not consensual and the girls did not want this to happen.

 

During the trial prosecutors described a scheme that Klaudt used to trick his victims into believing they could make lots of money by donating their reproductive eggs but first he had to preform exams on the victims. Those so-called exams are when the rapes took place.

The crimes Klaudt was convicted of took place while Klaudt was serving in the State Legislature and staying in Pierre. One of his victims.. his former foster daughter was a legislative page at the time.

www.ksfy.com
2007 Nov 7