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Rapid City Gymnastics Coach Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography
Rapid City, South Dakota – A former Rapid City gymnastics coach has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography, according to a guilty plea entered in federal court.
Hayden Sengua, age 25, of Rapid City, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on January 21, 2026, and pleaded guilty to receiving child sexual abuse material.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum term of five years up to 20 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, a mandatory minimum of five years up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Beginning in 2018 and continuing into January 2025, Sengua knowingly downloaded image and video files containing sexually explicit visual depictions of young children. Sengua saved the files on his cell phone, in his Google account, and on an external hard drive.
When he was arrested last year, Sengua was in possession of approximately 15,000 total media files depicting child sexual abuse. Some of the imagery Sengua collected depicts the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, as well as the bondage and torture of minors. Sengua also used a virtual machine to attempt to hide his collection of child pornography. At times, he used the IP address associated with a local Rapid City gymnastics center, to search for and download child pornography.
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 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.
The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for May 4, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Defendant: Hayden Sengua
Criminal Charges: Receiving child sexual abuse material
City and State: Rapid City, South Dakota
Date: January 21, 2026
Sentence: To be determined, with a maximum penalty of 5-20 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine
Dollar Amounts: $250,000 fine, $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund
Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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