(KWAT – Watertown, SD) A Watertown man was sentenced today (Thursday) in Codington County District Court on a state charge of First Degree Rape.
Forty seven year old Ted Jeffrey (T.J.) Hurkes (pictured) was sentenced to 50 years in prison for an incident that occurred during a child sleepover at his home in late 2022.
Hurkes pled guilty to the rape charge in October 2024.
Codington County State’s Attorney Alison Bakken asked Judge Carmen Means to impose a life sentence, saying Hurkes’ crime “impacted the entire community.”
Defense attorney Teree Nesvold did not ask for a specific sentence, but sought one that would allow for “rehabilitation opportunities” for her client.
Hurkes made a brief statement at today’s sentencing emphasizing that he was, “sorry for what happened to the victim,” and understood what he did was wrong.
Today’s sentence will run concurrent with a federal sentence imposed on Hurkes in June 2024 for a conviction of Production of Child Pornography. That conviction stemmed from an incident on October 2, 2022, when Hurkes used his cell phone to take pictures and make recordings of a partially unclothed minor female while she was asleep.
Following today’s sentencing in Codington County, Hurkes was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, which is returning him to a federal prison in Greenville, Illinois. His scheduled release date from that lockup facility is August 5, 2048.
He’ll be required to register as a sex offender after he’s released.
