Source: Office of United States Attorneys
RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. Chief District Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on May 16, 2024.
T Jay Joseph Sullivan, 29, was sentenced to five 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. Sullivan will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Sullivan was indicted for Receipt of Child Pornography and Transportation of Obscene Matters by a federal grand jury in March of 2023. He pleaded guilty on February 14, 2024.
The investigation originated from a CyberTip which reported child pornography associated with Sullivan’s Facebook account. Investigators learned Sullivan messaged a thirteen-year-old girl over Facebook, sent the girl images of his penis, and requested the girl send him images of some of her specific body parts. The thirteen-year-old girl sent Sullivan images that constituted child pornography. During the investigation, detectives learned Sullivan also requested nude images from a different thirteen-year-old girl by using Facebook Messenger and sent that girl images of his penis. All the messages and images were located in Sullivan’s Facebook account.
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, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
Sullivan was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.