Rapid City Man Sentenced to 30 Years for 15 Internet Crimes Against Children

 Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of five counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, one count of Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, six counts of Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet, two counts of Receipt of Child Pornography, and one count of Possession of Child Pornography was sentenced on September 8, 2021, by Judge Karen E. Schreier, U.S. District Court.

Kyle Garret Soto, age 34, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $1500 and a $5,000 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Soto was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2018, and was convicted by a jury following a week-long jury trial in Rapid City in April 2021.  Between February 2014 and April 2018, Soto engaged in prolific sexual activity with numerous minors over the internet, including demanding, receiving, and sending pornographic images and videos.  Soto threatened to distribute the minors’ images and videos online if they failed to comply with his ultimatums to provide him with additional pornographic items. Subsequent to his arrest in April 2018, forensic examination of Soto’s devices revealed hundreds of images of child pornography.  Soto’s victims ranged in age from approximately seven years old to 15 years old. 

The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, and the New Mexico Office of Attorney General. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Collins and Heather Sazama prosecuted the case.