United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that Andries Snyman, 43, who is from South Africa and working in Isabel, South Dakota, was convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet following a three-day federal jury trial held in U.S. District Court in Rapid City. The guilty verdict was returned on December 8, 2017.
Snyman was one of ten men who were arrested and federally indicted as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2016 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting internet predators. Following several chats and texts with a person Snyman believed to be a 14 year-old boy, but who was in fact an undercover agent, he proceeded to negotiate the time and place they would meet to have sex. When Snyman went to the pre-determined location to meet the minor, he was instead met by law enforcement agents and placed under arrest.
The undercover operation and arrests were a joint effort between the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Collins prosecuted the case. Sentencing has been set for April 19, 2018.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
