Box Elder Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Box Elder, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on October 5, 2026.

Zachary Wylie, 20, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $95 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Forfeiture of a Google Pixel cell phone was also ordered.

Wylie was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in March 2025. He pleaded guilty on June 29, 2026.

Between June and December 2024, the internet-based messaging application Kik generated multiple CyberTips based on Wylie's viewing, downloading, and receiving sexually explicit visual depictions of minors. The CyberTips were routed to the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for investigation. Each of the CyberTips contained information identifying Wylie as the user of each of the relevant Kik accounts. In January 2025, law enforcement investigators executed a search warrant on Wylie's residence and seized multiple electronic devices. Wylie admitted he had been viewing child pornography online for many years and was doing so right before law enforcement arrived at his residence. The contents of his Kik accounts contained more than 30 videos of child pornography. They also contained messages in which Wylie discussed trading child pornography and encouraging minors to engage in sexually explicit activity over video chats so he could watch them.

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 South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Box Elder Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Wylie was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.