Gordon Weston, Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet, Commercial Sex Trafficking, South Dakota 2024

Rapid City Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Sex Trafficking

A former employee of the Emergency Youth Shelter in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for sex trafficking a minor.

Gordon Weston, 58, was found guilty of one count of Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and two counts of Commercial Sex Trafficking after a federal jury trial in Rapid City in January of 2024.

The sentencing took place on May 14, 2024, before Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jonathan A. Kobes, sitting in district court in Rapid City, South Dakota.

As part of his sentence, Weston was ordered to pay a total of $300 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund for the three convictions.

Weston was employed as the Activities Coordinator at the Emergency Youth Shelter in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, from 2009 to 2021. During his employment, he met several females at the shelter, including the victim in the case. The victim was a vulnerable child who had been removed from her household due to neglect, violence, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Prosecutors alleged that after the victim was released from the shelter, Weston contacted her through social media and solicited her for sexual intercourse in exchange for money. Weston engaged in two acts of Commercial Sex Trafficking on two separate occasions. Through the investigation, it was revealed that Weston had victimized at least one other female.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.

The matter was investigated by the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Jeff Clapper prosecuting the case.

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

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/pr/oglala-man-sentenced-fifteen-years-federal-prison