Just let Ted Klaudt send me a "takedown notice" or try to claim that I owe him money for publicizing this story. Just try it, Ted.
On May 19, 2007, Former Congressman Ted Klaudt was arrested over allegations that he had raped and sexually abused his foster daughters. He was charged with eight counts of rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of witness tampering, sexual contact with a person under 16 (South Dakota's age of consent), and stalking, charges stemming from his activities in Corson and Hughes counties.
Klaudt entered no plea during his two court appearances following his arrest, so the judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf, setting his bail bond at $100,000; Klaudt posted the required ten percent to make bail. On June 15, he was formally indicted on four felony counts of second-degree rape by the grand jury in Hughes County; he entered a not guilty plea to the indictment July 11.
Trial and conviction
Klaudt's trial on these charges started October 30 at the Hughes County Courthouse.
On November 7, the defense rested and the 12-person jury retired to deliberate. Three hours later, Klaudt was convicted on all four counts of second-degree rape. He was sentenced on January 17, 2008, to 44 years in prison: 11 years per count, to be served consecutively. His defense counsel, Tim Rensch, commented that he wished they would have won. Klaudt's attorney also worked out a plea bargain for the Corson County charges shortly after the first trial. Klaudt pleaded guilty to witness tampering in exchange for dropping prosecution of the other Corson County charges.
Copyrighting his name
In December 2009, Klaudt sent a "Common Law Copyright Notice" to the Associated Press and various state media outlets warning that use of his name without permission is a violation of a common-law copyright of a trade name or trademark and would result in the offender owing him $500,000. Laura Malone, associated general counsel for intellectual property at The Associated Press, noted that the names of individuals cannot be protected under copyright law.
So here's a big "SCREW YOU" to child rapist Ted Klaud, for trying to use legal threats to cover up his crimes and for attempting to muzzle the internet. This is a textbook case of the [a href="vny!://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striesand_effect"]Striesand effect[/a], and Ted Klaudt will just have to learn it the hard way. Stop raping children, Ted, and your name won't be spread all over the internet.
vny!://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Alvin_Klaudt
