Rapid City Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. The sentencing took place on January 24, 2024.

Nathan David Hankins, 31, was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Ten years of Hankins’ federal custody time will run consecutively with previously imposed state and federal custody sentences. Hankins was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Hankins was indicted for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by a federal grand jury in August of 2023. He was convicted at a court trial on October 26, 2023.

The conviction stems from Hankins exploiting a 14-year-old female with whom he had a relationship in March of 2014. Hankins was 21 years old at the time.

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. Attorneys Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

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