May 2026:
U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor. The sentencing took place on May 18, 2026.
Jayson “Javi” Gomez, 31, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $95 in restitution and $100 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Forfeiture was also ordered.
Gomez was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in August 2025. He pleaded guilty on February 13, 2026.
On August 5, 2025, during the 2025 Sturgis Bike Rally, Gomez initiated communications on MeetMe with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. The girl, in fact, was a Rapid City Police Detective operating in an undercover capacity on the Internet-based application, MeetMe, used for dating and “hookups.” Gomez gave his cell number to the undercover persona and started communicating with her through texting. Gomez told her that they would have “Netflix and chill moments,” which is a slang term for having sexual intercourse while watching a movie. Gomez and the undercover persona made arrangements for him to pick her up at a predetermined location. When Gomez showed up at the location, he was arrested. Ultimately, Gomez admitted he intended to, and would have had, sex with the 14-year-old girl had she been a real person.
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 prosecuted the case.
Gomez was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
August 2025:
Five men were arrested during a child exploitation operation conducted by the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force during the 2025 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The operation was conducted Aug. 1 through Aug. 6, 2026.
Four men were separately arrested on federal charges while attempting to meet with a person they believed was a 14-year-old girl, for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity. They will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The defendants are:
- Elmer James Hopper, 36, Rapid City—charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet.
- Beau James Remington, 23, Black Hawk—charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and Attempted Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor.
- Jayson “Javi” Gomez, 30, Rapid City—charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet.
- Joshua Michael Allen, 36, Hermosa—charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet.
Another defendant was arrested on state charges for solicitation of a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to engage in prohibited sexual acts.
- 36 year old Jackson Wolfgang Witte of Summerset is charged with Solicitation of a Minor and Attempted Manufacture of Child Pornography.
He will be prosecuted by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.
The ICAC Task Force, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office, conducted the investigation in partnership with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The defendants are presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.
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