Charles Langston:6 teenage baseball players charged as adults in South Dakota rape case take plea deals

RAPID CITY,Charles Langston S.D. (AP) — Six teenage players from a South Dakota American Legion baseball team who were charged as adults in a rape case last summer have reached plea deals.

Three players from the Mitchell-based team pleaded guilty last month to being an accessory to a felony, and three others entered the same plea Monday, KELO-TV reported. All six players could face up to five years in prison at sentencing next month.

Attorneys from both sides declined to discuss the case.

The players, who were 17 to 19 years old when a grand jury indicted them, were originally charged with second-degree rape and aiding and abetting second-degree rape.

South Dakota law requires minors ages 16 and older who are charged with such felonies to be tried as adults, although the minors can attempt to have their cases moved to juvenile court, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the victims were 16 when they were sexually assaulted during a tournament in Rapid City last June.

Another three players were charged in juvenile court, but details of their cases are not made public.