Rapid City Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as Sex Offender

United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on January 7, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.

Sonny Ray Escarsega, a/k/a Sonny Ray Ruiz, age 39, was sentenced to 20 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.

Escarsega was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 14, 2020.  He pled guilty on October 14, 2021.

Escarsega was convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in July 2003.  As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender.  On August 7, 2020, Escarsega updated his sex offender registration to reflect that he was residing at an address in Rapid City.  Escarsega subsequently failed to reside at his registered address and absconded from federal supervised release.  Between August 10, 2020, and October 14, 2020, Escarsega failed to properly register as a sex offender and update his registration.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

Escarsega was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.