Rapid City Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Offenses

RAPID CITY - U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a man from Rapid City, South Dakota, convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on August 29, 2025.

Jerry Lamont, 61, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $35,630 in restitution and $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Lamont was indicted for the charges by a federal grand jury in January 2025. He pleaded guilty on May 14, 2025.

Between January and December 2024, Lamont uploaded multiple pictures and videos of child pornography into his Dropbox cloud storage account. Lamont possessed 12 electronic devices, all of which contained child pornography. The material depicted children as young as infants being sexually abused, computer-generated imagery, bestiality, and bondage. Forty-one children have been identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as victims whose images Lamont possessed. Restitution was ordered to several of the victims and the South Dakota ICAC Digital Investigations Fund.

"This defendant was in possession of 13,137 images of child sexual abuse material," said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. "Due to the relentless and collaborative work of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, the defendant was located, apprehended, and swiftly prosecuted for his exploitative conduct. The defendant is now out of our community as he begins his 15 year sentence in federal prison."

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 Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

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