Chris Jones leaving court last April
10/5/11
by Perry Miller
A man who pleaded guilty last year in a string of sexual assaults in Brookings is
asking the South Dakota Supreme Court to order that he be sentenced by another
judge.
Chris Jones' plea agreement with prosecutors called for a sentence recommendation
on the three counts of second-degree rape and one count of kidnapping not to exceed
70 years. Circuit Judge David Gienapp handed down a sentence of 80-years behind
bars.
Jones asked for a new sentencing hearing because prosecutors did not note the
agreement at the sentencing. Gienapp agreed, and again handed Jones an 80-year
sentence.
Jones' lawyer argued yesterday that a different judge should sentence him because
the plea agreement was violated.
A lawyer for the state says the mistake was corrected with the second hearing.
The court will rule at a later date. Jones assaulted three women at knifepoint in
Brookings. Two were on the SDSU campus. The third woman was kidnapped from
a Brookings residence.
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