FEBRUARY 2023:
A federal US District Court judge has decided on the punishment for a 43 year old man from Rapid City convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender for a fourth time.
Benjamen T. Flute (also known as Benjamin T. Flute) was sentenced to 25 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Flute was convicted of Second-Degree Rape in Caddo County, Oklahoma, in December of 2007. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender and to update his registration within three business days of relocation or changing employment. Flute was convicted in U.S. District Court of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender in 2017, 2019, and 2021. In August of 2022, Flute was released from prison with instructions to begin supervised release in Rapid City. Flute thereafter did not arrive at his expected residence in Rapid City, and he failed to update his sex offender registration. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued, and Flute was arrested in Rapid City on August 25, 2022.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson 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.
NOVEMBER 2021:
A 42 year old man from Rapid City convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender has received his punishment from a federal US District Court judge.
Benjamen T. Flute, a/k/a Benjamin T. Flute, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Flute was convicted of 2nd-Degree Rape in Caddo County, Oklahoma, in December 2007. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. In August 2020, Flute was released from prison and began a period of supervised release in Rapid City, but failed to update his sex offender registration. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued, and on November 25, 2020, Flute turned himself into law enforcement.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Flute was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Comments