BROOKINGS A 21-year-old man is in custody at the Brookings County Detention Center on charges he forcibly raped a 14-year-old girl in Brookings County in March.
According to the BCDC jail roster, Nathan Wayne Nelson, 21, who told law enforcement he recently moved to Brookings, is being held on charges of solicitation of a minor, rape in the second degree and aggravated assault.
According to court documents, Nelson is alleged to have picked the girl up from Wednesday night church in Brookings on March 12 at her request. But instead of taking her for fast food like she asked, he allegedly drove her west of town and forced her to have sex against her will.
Nelson was arrested by a deputy with the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office on March 13 and initially bonded out, but the party who posted his bond asked for it back and he was re-arrested on a warrant after being indicted by a grand jury. He is currently being held at the BCDC on $25,000 bond.
An initial charge of kidnapping was amended to the solicitation of a minor charge to better fit the facts of the case, Brookings County States Attorney Dan Nelson said in an email.
Rape in the second degree is a Class 1 felony in South Dakota, punishable by up to 50 years in the state penitentiary, a $50,000 fine; or both. Solicitation of a minor is a Class 4 felony, punishable by up to 10 years incarceration, a $10,000 fine; or both. Aggravated assault is a Class 3 felony, punishable with up to 15 years in prison, a $15,000 fine; or both.
The case is currently set for a jury trial on Aug. 13 at the Brookings County Courthouse.
Linehan is the Registers managing editor and welcomes comments at [email protected].
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