Nevada Man with Ties to South Dakota Sentenced to 15 ½ Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography and Cyberstalking

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a man from Las Vegas, Nevada, convicted of Production of Child Pornography and Cyberstalking. The sentencing took place on August 25, 2025.

Jaykob Elijah Varner, age 25, was sentenced to 15 years and six months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.

Varner was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2024. He pleaded guilty on June 2, 2025.

The conviction stemmed from incidents occurring between August 1, 2023, and April 13, 2024, when Varner coerced a juvenile female to send him nude photographs and videos of herself. Varner cyberstalked another juvenile female and similarly coerced her into sending nude photographs of herself. In both instances, Varner threatened to expose the victims’ photographs to their family, friends, and classmates if the victims refused to comply with Varner’s intensifying demands. These communications took place through Snapchat.

“This case is a sobering example of the real and serious threats our children face online,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “The victims in this case were sextorted by a complete stranger, whose escalating demands for compromising photos led the victims to believe they had no other choice than to comply. Although Varner will rightfully spend the next 15 years of his life in federal prison, there are others out there attempting to perpetrate the same crime. It is therefore critical that we talk with the children in our lives about the dangers associated with social media and how to report this type of illegal activity.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and DCI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.

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.

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