Rapid City Man Sentenced for Receipt of Child Pornography

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on June 9, 2023.

Harland Bernard Johnson, 74, was sentenced to six years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and a $5,000 special assessment to the Victims of Trafficking Fund. Johnson was also ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Johnson was indicted for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury in November of 2021. He pleaded guilty on September 23, 2022.

The conviction stems from Johnson receiving child pornography between January of 2018 and February of 2021, at Rapid City.

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, Homeland Security Investigations, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

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