Sean Carlos Payne, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, South Dakota 2025

RAPID CITY, South Dakota - A convicted sex offender has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for his heinous crimes committed against a 13-year-old girl in South Dakota.

Sean Carlos Payne, 34, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was sentenced on October 27, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity, and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.

Payne was originally charged by Criminal Complaint on October 21, 2024, after the Meade County Sheriff's Office received an emergent report of a missing 13-year-old female. It was discovered that Payne groomed the girl for multiple weeks leading up to her disappearance using online applications including Teen Chat, Discord, and Snapchat.

During Payne's communications with the child, Payne persuaded her to send him sexually explicit images of herself. Payne repeatedly sexually assaulted the victim in South Dakota and took her across state lines to Wyoming. There, Payne fled a traffic stop initiated by a law enforcement officer who was on the lookout for the missing child. Payne led multiple state and local Wyoming law enforcement officers on a high-speed pursuit with the child in his vehicle before being captured. Payne told the victim he intended to take her to California.

Payne, who had been convicted of attempted enticement of a minor in Iowa in June 2024, was a convicted sex offender in violation of his felony probation and the national sex offender registry at the time he began communicating with the victim.

“Thanks to swift, coordinated action by a team of dedicated law enforcement personnel, this is one horror story that ends with a multi-decade sentence for this egregious offender,” said U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons.

Payne was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He was also ordered to pay $300 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/pr/convicted-sex-offender-sentenced-35-years-federal-prison-sexual-exploitation-south