Ted A. Klaudt
When Ted A. Klaudt (R-Walker) served in the South Dakota House from 1999-2006 he had serious "moral values" conservative cred. The very cred, in fact, the GOP has been hot for since they pulled the covers back on the proverbial bed of government and invited the right to hop in.
When Klaudt wasn't busy banging the legislative drum for banning abortion he was happily co-sponsoring an anti-gay joint resolution to amend South Dakota's constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The resolution read, "Only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in South Dakota. The uniting of two or more persons in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other quasi-marital relationship shall not be valid or recognized in South Dakota."
But when the term-limited Klaudt lost his bid for the state senate last year, it looked like he was in danger of becoming just another right-wing also-ran. Instead, he's joining the growing list of sex-scandalized Republicans via a bizarre and contemptible child molestation case involving legislative pages and his own foster children.
The victims range between ages 15 and 19. According to reports, Klaudt told the girls that they could get $20,000 if they donated their eggs to a fertility clinic. Of course, they would need an exam and, gosh, Klaudt was kind enough to provide those "services," which included manhandling their breasts and vaginas.
South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long told The Associated Press, "He was convincing these girls they were candidates for donation of their eggs, that this would be a significant financial advantage to them and it was necessary for him to perform these acts on the girls to determine if they would be viable candidates for the procedure."
Oh, and if one of the girls cried during the "exam" Klaudt would give her a beer and tell her to relax.
He even went so far as to set up a fake e-mail account so the "clinic" could communicate with the girls.
Klaudt's sudden interest in family planning is all the more perverse given his staunch anti-abortion record in the legislature. In fact, he was one of the biggest supporters of the South Dakota abortion ban that did not include exceptions for rape.
According to the Associated Press, Klaudt has been "charged with eight counts of second-degree rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of sexual contact with a child younger than 16, two counts of witness tampering and one count of stalking."
Apparently one of the girls assaulted by Klaudt came forward in 2006 and said she was being sexually abused. She then recanted at Klaudt's insistence. According to the Argus Leader, Klaudt told her she'd be "sent to juvenile prison, would not graduate and would not be able to come home if she didn't recant the story."
Family values, indeed.
Klaudt faces 265 years in prison and infinity in the Hell he so strongly believes in.
