Allen Man Sentenced for Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced an Allen, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on April 28, 2023.

Kordelle Running Hawk, 24, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Running Hawk will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Running Hawk was indicted for Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet by a federal grand jury in August of 2022. He pleaded guilty on January 6, 2023.

Running Hawk was arrested and federally indicted as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2022 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting internet predators.  Following multiple sexually explicit chats and text messages with a person Running Hawk believed to be a 14-year-old girl, but who was in fact an undercover agent, Running Hawk proceeded to negotiate a time and place he would meet the minor to engage in unlawful sex acts.  When Running Hawk went to the pre-determined location to meet the minor, he was instead met by law enforcement agents and placed under arrest.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

Running Hawk was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.