25 years for rape

10 years suspended from Mann’s 35-year sentence

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BROOKINGS – A Brookings man convicted of one count of first-degree rape has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The sentence for 37-year-old Daniel Mann was handed down in Brookings County Circuit Court Tuesday.

A Brookings County grand jury indicted Mann, and he was arrested in September 2016. He was initially facing four counts of first-degree rape, and a jury convicted him on one count in August.

Court documents say the victim was 12 years old at the time of the offense, which occurred between May 2014 and January 2015.

First-degree rape is a Class C felony and is punishable by up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine.

At sentencing Tuesday, Brookings County State’s Attorney Abigail Howard said Mann’s supporters want the case to be retried and evidence revisited, but a panel of 12 people already did that, and it wasn’t the purpose of this week’s hearing.

There are inconsistencies and contradictions in what Mann has told authorities, she added.

“At what point do we stop blaming and questioning the victim?” Howard said.

Howard said the victim in the case suffered years of ongoing abuse that culminated in rape, and she had nothing to gain by coming forward. 

“This child has to live with this for the rest of her life,” Howard said. 

She asked the judge to consider a sentence of 50 years to life in prison and “send a message to sex offenders that child rape is not tolerated in this community.”

Defense attorney Tim Hogan said law enforcement officers believed Mann’s accuser and failed to properly investigate the case.

“There was no evidence for him to challenge except the word of the victim,” the attorney said. Law enforcement should “respect that someone is innocent until proven guilty.”

Hogan said the jury convicting Mann on one count of rape and acquitting him on three other counts was “a compromised verdict.”

He noted Mann’s criminal history, including escape from custody as a teenager and drug offenses, but said Mann turned his life around in 2004 and has lived a good life ever since.

Hogan also read from numerous letters of support written by family and friends on behalf of Mann. He asked the judge to consider probation with “significant time over his head.”

Circuit Judge Greg Stoltenburg said this wasn’t an easy case, but 12 independent and impartial jurors took an oath, considered the evidence in the case and came to a unanimous decision with no preconceived notions. The decision of guilt is made by the jury, not the judge, he added.

Stoltenburg said there was 15-year mandatory minimum sentence for the conviction and noted that Mann has spent a substantial amount of time in the state penitentiary.

“There are no mitigating circumstances to depart from the mandatory minimum,” he said.

Stoltenburg then sentenced Mann to 35 years in prison. Ten of those years are suspended on condition that Mann follow the rules and regulations of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, remain law abiding, and pay court-appointed attorney fees and $1,800 in restitution for a psychosexual evaluation. 

Stoltenburg gave Mann credit for 214 days already served in jail and then remanded him to the custody of the sheriff’s office for transport to the state penitentiary.

Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister.com.