United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Sky Thomas Roubideaux, age 23, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on April 20, 2023.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Roubideaux was indicted by a federal grand jury in April of 2022.

Roubideaux, using his cellular phone, attempted to knowingly entice a minor individual, namely an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old male, to engage in sexual activity.

This case was investigated by the FBI and  Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

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.

A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for July 10, 2023. Roubideaux was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Original source can be found here.