Former USD athlete sentenced for rape

A former University of South Dakota men's basketball player has been sentenced for rape, after he pleaded guilty to the charge in February.

But that 20-year sentence has already been suspended, according to the judge's ruling, meaning he won't be incarcerated at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. He will, however, be on probation for 20 years, according to the South Dakota Unified Judicial System record database. And he'll be required to spend six months in jail, the records show.

Mihai Carcoana was initially indicted on two rape charges and interference with emergency communication in, Clay County court documents show. At the time of his sentencing Thursday, he had pleaded guilty to one of the charges of rape, while the other charges had been dismissed.

Carcoana was indicted mid-December of 2022.The incident took place in the early morning hours of Dec. 9, 2022, according to an affidavit. While at Carcoana's residence, a female communicated with friends to pick them up. Then, Carcoana proceeded to push the victim on her bed, taking her phone and dismissed calls from friends, court documents state.

That was when Carcoana allegedly started to forcefully rape the victim as she tried to push Carcoana off, of whom police said is of a larger, “substantial size difference” compared with the victim, according to the affidavit.

After stopping, the victim immediately left the residence and went to an emergency room to make the report. After an investigation of Carcoana's residence, items were seized and corroborated details provided by the victim, according to the affidavit.

He was then put under arrest for rape by the Vermillion Police Department, the affidavit said.

That morning, USD issued a Campus Alert at 11:23 a.m. Dec. 9 about a sexual assault at a residence hall on the north side of the USD campus. In that alert, it was indicated the victim was assaulted by someone they knew, according to previous reporting from the Argus Leader. It has not been confirmed whether the report and the alert are directly connected.

Carcoana, who was 20 at the time of his arrest, is from Romania and was in his first year with the Coyotes' men's basketball program after transferring from Toledo. As part of his bond conditions, Carcoana was forced to relinquish his passport, court documents show.