Rapid City Man Sentenced on Sex Crime

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 Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on December 5, 2022.

Jesse James Young, 37, was sentenced to 11 years and three 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.

Young was indicted for Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor by a federal grand jury in August of 2021. He pleaded guilty on August 12, 2022.

Young was arrested as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2021 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting internet predators. Following multiple sexually explicit chats and text messages with a person Young believed to be a 13-year-old girl, but who was in fact an undercover agent, Young proceeded to negotiate a time and place he would meet the minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. When Young went to the pre-determined location to meet the minor, he was instead met by law enforcement agents and placed under arrest.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, Homeland Security Investigations, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

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