SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a joint online sex crimes operation, which ran from March 7, 2024, through March 12, 2024, has concluded with the arrest of 11 individuals. The operation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Police Department, Watertown Police Department, Tea Police Department, Rapid City Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
As a result, the following individuals from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were arrested and federally
charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet:
• Kyle Dean Bult, age 38;
• Kalvin Michael Frankus, age 37;
• Hunter Hill, age 22;
• Stacy Shannon Hoover, age 56;
• Ryan Nigro, age 32;
• Jorge Manual Rodriguez-Marroquin, age 47;
• Dylan Ryan, age 24;
• Gerber David Santos Gonzalez, age 25;
• William Danery Sebastian, age 33;
• Southy Thepmontry, age 69; and
• Carter Lee Tyree, age 20.
The mandatory minimum penalty upon conviction is 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine. The charges are merely accusations, and all Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
“This operation demonstrates the unsettling reality that here in our own communities, there are individuals using the Internet to target young girls and boys for sex,” said U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell. “We are grateful to our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, who regularly collaborate to safeguard children across South Dakota. May it serve as a stark reminder to parents, guardians, and caretakers that the Internet can be a very dangerous place for children, particularly when their activity is left unmonitored.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents work tirelessly to protect children from exploitation,” said Jamie Holt, HSI St. Paul Special Agent in Charge. “This successful online sex crimes operation shows the threat child predators pose in our communities and the importance of working hand-in-hand with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to bring individuals and networks who prey on vulnerable populations to justice.”
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Clapper and Elizabeth A. Ebert.
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.