Black Hawk Man Sentenced for Child Pornography

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell declared a stern verdict today as U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier sentenced Matthew Charles Ratliff, a 51-year-old resident of Black Hawk, South Dakota, to five years and three months in federal prison for Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing ceremony unfolded on July 11, 2025.

Ratliff, who was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and pay $20,000 in restitution to online victims, was further mandated to fork over a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. His registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is now mandatory.

The saga began when Ratliff was indicted by a federal grand jury for Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography back in May 2023. He entered a guilty plea on April 7, 2025.

Law enforcement was alerted to the sinister activities of Ratliff through a Cybertip that revealed his downloading and viewing of images depicting young children being sexually abused. An exhaustive search of his devices uncovered approximately 280 images of child sexual abuse material. The court acknowledged that every time such an image is viewed, it re-victimizes the child depicted. Some of the victims in these images have been identified, and Ratliff was ordered to pay restitution for each.

This harrowing case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative leverages federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.

The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case. Ratliff was immediately remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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