Sex offender pleads guilty in Watertown

WATERTOWN, S.D. (KELO) -- A convicted sex offender at the center of a KELOLAND News Investigation admits to raping a child.

63-year-old James Kaska appeared in court this afternoon in Watertown and pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree rape.

In exchange for his plea, other charges were dropped.

We first told you about Kaska in a KELOLAND News investigation in 2022.

Also in 2022, we knocked on Kaska's front door after a parent informed us he was helping at a home day care in Watertown, which is illegal because Kaska's a registered sex offender.

Police investigated, and thought they had enough evidence to make an arrest, but Kaska was never charged in that case.