United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Gerber David Santos-Gonzalez, a 26-year-old man from Guatemala, has been sentenced to federal prison for over ten years. U.S. District Judge Lawrence L. Piersol handed down the sentence following Santos-Gonzalez's conviction on charges of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Child.

Santos-Gonzalez was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024 and found guilty after a jury trial in October 2024. On January 13, 2025, he received a sentence of ten years and one month in federal prison. Following his release, he will be subject to five years of supervised release and must pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Additionally, he is required to register as a sex offender.

The conviction is related to an incident on March 12, 2024, where Santos-Gonzalez used Facebook and Facebook Messenger to arrange a meeting with someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl in exchange for $100. The supposed minor was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. He was arrested when he attempted to meet her in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project involves collaboration between federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.

The investigation involved several agencies including Homeland Security Investigations; the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; Sioux Falls Police Department; Watertown Police Department; Tea Police Department; Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office; Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office; and South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.

Following his sentencing, Santos-Gonzalez was remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.