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Press Release

Sex Offender Sentenced to 24 Months of Imprisonment for Failing to Register

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of failure to register as a sex offender was sentenced on September 9, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Virgil Running Bear, age 46, was sentenced to 24 months of federal custody, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

According to court documents, Running Bear was convicted of Sexual Abuse in the District of North Dakota.  Judgment was entered on October 31, 2005.  This conviction requires him to register as a sex offender for life.  Since on or about December 25, 2017, Running Bear’s whereabouts were unknown until his arrest in Winner, South Dakota.  His last known address was at a hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota, but that residence was vacated with no sign of Running Bear since December 25, 2017.

At the time of his arrest, he had absconded from the supervision of the United States Probation Office, as he has been serving a term of supervised release.  Running Bear was found in the Winner, South Dakota, area using a fake name and residing at a house that had not been listed in an update to his sex offender registry.  Running Bear knew of the requirement to update his sex offender registration, but he knowingly failed to do so.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri prosecuted the case.   

Running Bear was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Updated September 19, 2019

Topic
Project Safe Childhood