Winner man sentenced to prison for third-degree rape charge

Jul. 25—PIERRE — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Thursday that a Winner man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, after earlier pleading guilty to third-degree rape of a person incapable of giving consent.

Lionel Lee Eagle Hawk, 38, was sentenced Wednesday in Tripp County Circuit Court. The incident occurred on or about April 17, 2022 in Winner.

"This crime was committed by a direct care professional in a residential care facility for the developmentally delayed," Jackley said. "This was a crime committed against a vulnerable member of our society."

Agencies that investigated the case were the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Winner Police Department.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit prosecuted the case. The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $615,068 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25%, totaling $205,019 for fiscal year 2024, is funded by the state of South Dakota.