Sioux Falls Police arrest 20-year-old tied to statutory rape case

A Sioux Falls man has been arrrested in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl, officials with the Sioux Falls Police Department said.

Cornell Ramon Jones, 20, has been charged with statutory rape, which is fourth degree rape and a class three felony, solicitation of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the charges listed on the Minnehaha County Jail book-in log Thursday.

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Officers had been looking for the girl after she was reported as a runaway, department spokesperson Sam Clemens said. During the investigation, officers found her staying with Jones at a motel in the 2600 block of East 10th Street, Clemens said.

Clemens said the two allegedly connected after Jones sent the teenager a message through Instagram.

"During the course, they had a conversation. There were a lot of different things that were said," Clemens said. "At one point he arranged to have her picked up and brought to that motel room."

The girl had been there a day or two, Clemens said. Officers learned sexual contact occurred between the two over the course of their investigation, the police spokesman added.

"It was really this whole investigation of trying to find the missing runaway, and then learning all of this other stuff took place," Clemens said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls Police say statutory rape case started with Instagram