SIOUX FALLS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - South Dakota), published as received.
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Robert Charles Black Cloud, age 67, was indicted in November of 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann on November 23, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to ten years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that Black Cloud, who had previously been convicted of a sex crime and required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, failed to do so between May 29, 2022 and November 1, 2022.
The charge is merely an accusation and Black Cloud is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper is prosecuting the case.
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.
Black Cloud was released on bond pending trial which has been set for January 31, 2023.
