Rapid City Man Sentenced for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. The sentencing took place on June 7, 2024.

Charles Nichols, 51, was sentenced to 24 years and 5 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Nichols was indicted for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and Attempted Enticement of a Minor by a federal grand jury in March 2023. He pleaded guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor on March 28, 2024.

Nichols admitted that he communicated with a minor, who was then aged 16 and 17, over Instagram for several months. He then offered her alcohol, marijuana, and vape pods in exchanged for sexual activity between August and October of 2022. Nichols used his cellular phone to record some of these sexual acts with the minor. Nichols was arrested after he drove to the Monument Arena in October of 2022, during the Black Hills Pow Wow, to exchange a vape pen for sexual acts with a different minor.

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 Homeland Security Investigations and the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

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