RAPID CITY — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - South Dakota), published as received.

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Distribution of Child Pornography, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography.  The sentencing took place on August 14, 2026. 

Jesse Luiz Jaso, 22, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for each count, followed by five years of supervised release.  Each sentence was ordered to run concurrently.  Further, Jaso was ordered to pay a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, a $1,000 fine and will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Jaso was indicted for Distribution of Child Pornography, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury in February 2024.  He was found guilty of all counts on May 21, 2026, following a 2-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City.

In February 2023, a Rapid City Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Detective received a Cybertip from Snapchat that Jesse Jaso was distributing child pornography.  Through the investigation and subsequent search and seizure of Jaso’s phone, law enforcement learned he had been communicating with individuals online, purchasing child pornography, and soliciting others to exchange 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 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.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case. 

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