ONIDA — A 73 year-old Onida man is in the Hughes County Jail on charges that he sexually assaulted three Hughes County teenagers he met on Instagram. Steven Harold West is being held on a 50-thousand dollar cash bond. A probable cause affidavit on file in Sully County indicates that Hughes County law enforcement requested assistance from the South Dakota Division of Investigation for help in a runaway investigation involving three teens ages 12, 13 and 13 from Blunt on May 13th. One of the victims, when interviewed told authorities West made the girls cut their hair with an electric razor. West then had sex with two of the three girls in a basement bedroom. West then drove the teens to a gas station in Vivian. The documents indicate West gave the victims 180 and 280 dollars in exchange for the sex acts including oral sex and intercourse with one. The other victims gave investigators similar stories. West according to the document would pay one of the girls for nude images, which were found on Google. West is being held on one count of first degree rape and two counts of fourth degree rape. A court appearance is set in Onida for June 8th.
