Ted Alvin Klaudt (born April 9, 1958) is a convicted

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

er, and former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided into ...

(1999–2006) from

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In November 2007 he was convicted of four counts of

raping Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

his two foster daughters.

Legislative career

Klaudt was a

member of the

from 1999 to 2006 when he was "termed out" of his seat which was filled by

Betty Olson Betty Olson (born April 19, 1946) is a rancher, EMT, and substitute schoolteacher. She is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate in District 28 from 2015 to 2017. Before that, she was a member of th ...

. Klaudt decided to run for the

state Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

but was defeated by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Ryan Maher. While in office, Klaudt co-sponsored several bills that regulated

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...

s, including the establishment of "community safety zones" prohibiting sex offenders from residing, working, or entering within 500

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

of schools, public parks and swimming pools. He also co-sponsored the bill that required South Dakota to be included in the

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, a bill that requires the Department of Social Services to inform parents about abuse or

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness an ...

involving their children in state custody. His bill to have prohibited the distribution of birth control to

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students was defeated.

Child sexual abuse

Indictment and arrest

On May 19, 2007, Klaudt was arrested on allegations that he had raped and

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

his foster daughters,Report
by

KSFY-TV KSFY-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside dual NBC/Fox affiliate KDLT-TV (channel 46). Both stations share studios in Co ...

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, covering Klaudt's arrest,

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

, and

conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is cons ...

. 17 and 19 years old at the time.Klaudt's page
at the

Sex Offender Registry A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...

He was charged with eight counts of rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of

witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficul ...

, sexual contact with a person under 16 (South Dakota's age of consent), and

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

, charges stemming from his activities in Corson and

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

counties. Klaudt entered no

plea In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

during his two court appearances following his arrest, so the judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf, setting his

bail bond Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

at 100,000; Klaudt posted the required ten percent to make

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

and was released. On June 15, he was formally

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

on four

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

counts of second-degree rape by the grand jury in Hughes County; he entered a not guilty plea to the indictment July 11.

Trial and conviction

Klaudt's

on these charges started October 30, 2007 at the Hughes County Courthouse. On November 7, the defense rested and the 12-person

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

retired to deliberate. Three hours later, the jury convicted Klaudt on all four counts of second-degree rape. He was sentenced on January 17, 2008, to 44 years in prison: 11 years per count, to be served consecutively.South Dakota Lawmaker Gets 44 Years for Raping Foster Daughters in Egg Donor Scam

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, 2008-01-17. Accessed 2008-01-18. Klaudt also

pleaded guilty In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

, and was sentenced to an additional ten years' imprisonment.

"Copyrighting" his name

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and various state media outlets warning that use of his name, Ted Klaudt, without permission is a violation of a

common-law copyright Common law copyright is the legal doctrine that grants copyright protection based on common law of various jurisdictions, rather than through protection of statutory law. In part, it is based on the contention that copyright is a natural right a ...

of a trade name or trademark and could result in a judgment against the offender of up to US$500,000. Laura Malone, associated general counsel for intellectual property at

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

, noted that the names of individuals, including Ted Klaudt, cannot be protected under copyright law. The resulting publicity made his case more famous than ever, a syndrome sometimes termed the " Streisand effect".

References

External links

Klaudt's legislative recordPre-trial conference reportReport of his arrestTrial updateHearing postponementSecond not guilty pleaArraignment postponementHughes County indictmentAffidavit with new evidenceNews updateAffidavitTrial updateConviction and plea deal information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klaudt, Ted 1958 births Living people Republican Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of South Dakota People from Corson County, South Dakota American politicians convicted of sex offences South Dakota politicians convicted of crimes American people convicted of child sexual abuse American people convicted of rape