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

PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencing took place on January 25, 2023.

Richard Peneaux, 29, was sentenced to two years and four months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Peneaux was indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender by a federal grand jury in May of 2022. He pleaded guilty on October 13, 2022.

Peneaux was convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor on March 4, 2014. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender and update his registration within three business days of relocation or changing employment or student status. Peneaux last registered in February of 2022, providing an address for the Cornerstone Mission in Rapid City, South Dakota, as his address. On February 14, 2022, contact was made with Cornerstone Mission and Peneaux had not been staying there. Peneaux’s whereabouts were unknown until he was arrested in Sioux Falls on unrelated charges on April 8, 2022.

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 and Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abby Roesler prosecuted the case.

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