SIOUX FALLS A Brookings man serving a 15-year sentence for rape has died at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls at age 22.
Tajhon Cayou died at a Sioux Falls hospital on Jan. 27, according to a news release from the South Dakota Department of Corrections.
Cayou was sentenced to 15 years at the state pen after pleading guilty to first-degree rape in Brookings County Circuit Court in July 2021.
According to court documents the victim was a 12-year-old girl, who immediately reported the assault to a school counselor, who immediately reported it to authorities.
According to contemporaneous Register reporting, Cayou fled Brookings County in 2021. He was apprehended in Nebraska on a warrant.
Cayou was then ultimately extradited back to Brookings County to face charges in a multi-state effort.
In exchange for Cayous guilty plea, a second count of first-degree rape was dismissed.
First-degree rape is a Class C felony in South Dakota punishable by up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine. The conviction carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Circuit Judge Greg Stoltenburg found no mitigating factors to deviate from the mandatory minimum. And a pre-sentence psycho-sexual evaluation found him a higher than average risk to reoffend, according to the Register story when Cayou was sentenced.
Inquiries as to the cause and manner of death of Cayou were not returned by press time.
Linehan is the Registers managing editor and welcomes comments a [email protected].
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