Federal Jury Finds Sioux Falls Man Guilty of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a jury has convicted Ryan Nigro, age 34, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The verdict was returned on June 4, 2026.

The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of up to life, and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

Nigro was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024. 

Nigro started a conversation on Reddit, a popular communication/posting website, with a person he believed was a 12-year-old girl.  The conversation turned sexual, and he asked the 12-year-old girl to meet up hoping to have a sexual encounter with her.  Nigro arrived at the meet location where he was arrested by law enforcement. All along, unbeknownst to him, Nigro had actually been chatting with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 12-year-old girl. 

This case was brought as part of an undercover chat operation designed to identify individuals in the community who are interested in having sex with minors.  The case was also 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 Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Police Department, Watertown Police Department, Tea Police Department, Rapid City Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and South Dakota Highway Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth E. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case. 

A presentence investigation was ordered; a sentencing date will be set at a later time.  The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.