Vermillion Man Sentenced to Over 20 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Charges

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a man from Vermillion, South Dakota, who was convicted of Attempting to Produce Child Pornography, Possession of Child Pornography, and two counts of Receipt and Transportation of Child Pornography following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls this past January. The sentencing took place on April 13, 2026.

Nicholas Keitges, age 34, was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $16,000, as well as a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $400. Upon release from federal prison, Keitges must register as a sex offender.

Keitges was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023.

A thorough investigation by the Sioux Falls Police Department, the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations, identified Keitges as an online predator. The investigation discovered that Keitges had started collecting and trafficking in child pornography online, then progressed to playing out his pedophilic fantasies with others online before he was able to befriend and groom a young girl from the Sioux Falls area.

In the Spring of 2022, Keitges used the online platforms Omegle and Snapchat to befriend the 14-year-old girl. He then sexually groomed her and attempted to coerce her into sending him sexually explicit images of her genitalia. When Keitges arrived at her home to meet up for sexual relations, the minor got scared and law enforcement was called. The following year, law enforcement received a CyberTip that discovered Keitges had been using online platforms such as Dropbox and Google to transport files containing child pornography.

The investigation culminated in a jury trial in which Keitges was convicted of one count of attempting to produce child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and two counts of transportation of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department, South Dakota DCI, South Dakota ICAC Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb 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.

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