SIOUX FALLS A former South Dakota law enforcement officer is behind bars following a standoff in Sioux Falls.
Kipp Stearns, 35, faces several charges, including rape.
Sioux Falls Police Department spokesperson Sam Clemens said a juvenile victim reported a sexual assault on Friday.
Law enforcement officers tried arresting Stearns at a home in western Sioux Falls on Sunday night in connection to that assault, but he refused to come out.
Investigators believed Stearns may have been armed, so a SWAT team was called in.
He was eventually taken into custody Monday morning.
Stearns was once a deputy with the Turner County Sheriffs Office, but lost his law enforcement certification in March 2024.
That stemmed over an illegal search and lying in an official report, according to the state Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission.
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