Rapid City Man Sentenced for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

ABERDEEN - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Failing to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on October 30, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.

Leonard Jones, age 37, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Jones was indicted by a federal grand jury in May of 2023. He pleaded guilty on August 2, 2023.

Jones is required to register as a sex offender under federal law. Jones had registered an address in Rapid City with the Rapid City Police Department in August of 2022, following his release from prison. In January of 2023, Jones left that address without notifying the police or his probation officer. Jones did not update his registration until his arrest for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender in July of 2023.

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 U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

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