Rapid City Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of two counts of Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on August 3, 2026.

Alex Badura, 27, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release on each charge. The time in prison and supervised release is to be served concurrently. Badura was also ordered to pay $285 in restitution and $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Forfeiture of computers and a cell phone was also ordered.

Badura was indicted for the charges by a federal grand jury in January 2026. He pleaded guilty on April 20, 2026.

Between November 2024 and September 2025, Badura used generative artificial intelligence to create child pornography of two, 12-year-old children, who were related to him, from real photographs. On September 24, 2025, Badura possessed approximately 200 images and 163 videos of computer-generated child pornography of the two minors. Badura possessed 1,021 media files that appeared to be cropped or cut and pasted to depict the nude breasts of the two minors and on another device possessed 408 media files of computer-generated child pornography depicting the two minors. Badura then posted photos of the two minors on social media platforms with the minors' identifying information that could have led other users to find them. Badura bragged in chat groups about having these photographs. Badura also possessed images and videos of child pornography depicting other minors.

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 Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.

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