RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — Prosecutors say it’s a crime that’s been happening among Mitchell Legion baseball players for years and, thanks to a brave victim, it may finally stop.
It’s a case we’ve been following for more than a year.
Six former Mitchell Legion baseball players were initially charged with raping a teammate at a Rapid City hotel when they were in town for a tournament.
They recently made plea deals and each of them admitted to being an accessory to a felony.
Today the players learned their fate.
Today inside the Pennington County Courthouse, the judge heard from the victim and his father.
The judge told them they should have been applauded for coming forward, not shamed by their community.
“What happened to the victim in this case was unacceptable, it was not just a hazing incident, it was rape. And he absolutely did the right thing coming forward and I’m very happy he did so, so that we could address the issues that happened,” Major Crimes Senior Deputy Roxanne Hammond said.
Prosecutors also showed a video of the 2023 crime.
In it, you could see the six former players holding the boy down in a hotel room as they took turns digitally penetrating him through his clothing. The victim yelled “stop” and “no” as it happened.
“To imaging being a teenage boy and having to speak out against your friends, your teammates, and admit to something as violating as sexual assault, especially with the way our society views it with young men,” Hammond said.
When it came time for sentencing, the Judge said he was bothered because he saw some people in the courtroom smirking as the video played.
He also told the courtroom he was disappointed that one of the victim’s former coaches wrote a character letter claiming the victim only came forward because he wasn’t getting enough playing time.
In the end, the judge listened to the victim’s request and did not give the former players jail time.
Instead they will all be on probation for the next three years and will each need to do 500 hours of community service which cannot be sports-related.
“The victims can have some closure in this as it moves on and we did bring to light a lot of bad acts that can now be addressed in the Mitchell community and hopefully in sports communities across the state. If this is happening anywhere else, this was a big warning shot to them,” Hammond said.
Each of the defendants apologized to the victim and his family. Two came to tears, saying they were ashamed of themselves for hurting someone else.
Each of the players was also given a suspended imposition of sentence. That means they won’t have to serve any time as long as they stay out of trouble.
Each defendant also has to pay a $1,300 fine.
