SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that Chief United States District Court Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on September 14, 2026.

Ryan Nigro, age 34, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Upon release from federal prison, Nigro must register as a sex offender for 25 years. Nigro was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024. He was found guilty at a jury trial on June 4, 2026.

The conviction stemmed from an undercover chat operation in which several law enforcement agencies worked together to identify individuals using the Internet to attempt to have sex with children. In this case, Nigro used the application Reddit to start a conversation with a person he believed was a 12-year-old girl. Nigro introduced the topic of sex into the conversation and asked the child to meet with him at a local hotel for sex. Nigro arrived at the hotel where he was arrested by law enforcement. The 12-year-old female persona was operated by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Police Department, Watertown Police Department, Tea Police Department, Rapid City Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth E. 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.

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