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 federal grand jury has indicted a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man for Failure to Register: International Travel Reporting Violation.
Scott Richard Semrad, age 49, was indicted in March of 2023. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on March 17, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 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 between February 5, 2022, and February 22, 2022, Semrad, a sex offender by reason of a conviction under state law, unlawfully and knowingly failed to provide information required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act relating to intended travel to a foreign country.
The charge is merely an accusation and Semrad is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman 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.
Semrad was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
