SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Wentworth, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on Feb. 3, 2023.
Jordan Charles Opdahl, age 30, was sentenced to 12.5 years in federal prison, five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $5,100.
Opdahl was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2021. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, 2022.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on Oct. 20, 2020, when Opdahl used his Kik account to access and receive file containing child pornography from other Kik users. Opdahl downloaded the files containing child pornography from the internet and other Kik users to his cellular phone. Opdahl also distributed the files depicting child pornography to other Kik users.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted 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.
Opdahl was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
