Rapid City Man Sentenced to Nearly 2 Years in Federal Prison for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a man from Rapid City, South Dakota, convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.  The sentencing took place on January 5, 2026.

Jose Eduardo Rodriguez, age 50, was sentenced to one year and nine 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.

Rodriguez was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025.  He pleaded guilty on October 1, 2025.

Rodriguez was convicted of Fourth Degree Rape in Butte County, South Dakota, in 1998. Consequently, 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.  In October 2023, Rodriguez began a period of supervised release residing in Rapid City, and he appropriately updated his sex offender registration.  Rodriguez moved from South Dakota to Texas in February 2024, but did not update his sex offender registration.  An arrest warrant was subsequently issued, and on April 29, 2025, Rodriguez was arrested in Rapid City.

This case was brought as a 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. Attorney’s 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.  Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

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