South Dakota man charged with traveling to Cerro Gordo County to sexually abuse a girl enters Alford plea to misdemeanor

ROCKWELL — A South Dakota man charged with sexual abuse in Cerro Gordo County after being accused of driving over 300 miles to meet a minor for sex has entered an Alford plea in the case.

A criminal complaint states that 22-year-old Cheylub Hall of Scotland South Dakota drove from South Dakota on October 15th of last year to meet with a juvenile victim aged 14 or 15 in Rockwell. The complaint says a convenience store video shows Hall meeting with the victim, with the victim getting into his car, where they drove to Linn Grove Park, with Hall and the victim having sex inside the vehicle. Hall then drove the victim out of town and dropped them off on a gravel road and fled the area. The victim and Hall had corresponded on social media for two weeks prior to the incident.

Hall was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony. His trial was scheduled to start today, but court records show that he recently entered an Alford plea to the lesser charge of exhibition of obscene material to a minor, a serious misdemeanor. With an Alford plea, a person does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a suspended one-year jail term with credit for time served, two years probation and a $430.

Hall is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6th.