Rapid City Man Receives 10 Years in Federal Prison

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on February 6, 2024.

James Dreamer, age 41, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by seven years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Dreamer will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

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

Dreamer was arrested as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2023 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting internet predators. Following hundreds of Facebook and text messages with a person Dreamer believed to be a 15-year-old girl, but who was in fact an undercover agent, Dreamer proceeded to negotiate a time and place he would meet the minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. When Dreamer 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 Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

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