Man sentenced to 50 years in rape of girl
A man who was convicted of raping his girlfriend's 6-year-old daughter was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday.
Emmanuel Francis Pio, 25, had been convicted of first-degree rape by a Minnehaha County jury. He faced life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars.
"I ask that you have mercy on me, not for my sake, but for my families sake," Pio said.
On Sept. 9, 2013, officers were called to the 4500 block of East 42nd Street for a report of a sex offense.
Court documents say the victim's mother was awakened that night by a noise coming from her daughter's bedroom. She got out of bed, opened the door to her daughter's bedroom and saw Pio climbing down the top bunk bed, court documents say.
Pio is not the victim's biological father.
The victim's mother saw the daughter was not wearing clothes and Pio was wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt.
"(The victim's mother) noted (Pio) had an erection, which was visible under the boxers," court documents say.
A child's voice interview was conducted with the 6-year-old victim.
The victim said Pio's "pee pee" touched her on more than one occasion and the first time was when she was 5 years old. The victim said Pio told her not to talk about it.
"When I think of this case, I place it on the very worst end of the spectrum," Judge Susan Sabers said.
The victim's mother and Pio had been in a relationship for six years before the incident occurred. She told the courtroom that her daughter will suffer from the sexual abuse for the rest of her life. For that, she said, Pio "shouldn't be alive. I want him to never be able to hurt another child."
Call Argus Leader reporter Mark Walker at (605) 331-2333. Follow him on Twitter: @ArgusMWalker: https://twitter.com/ArgusMWalker