Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell has announced the indictment of Jerry Lamont, a 60-year-old resident of Rapid City, South Dakota. Lamont faces federal charges for receipt and possession of child pornography.
The indictment was issued by a federal grand jury in January 2025. Lamont appeared before Daneta L. Wollmann on February 7, 2025, where he entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
If convicted of receiving child pornography, Lamont could face a mandatory minimum sentence ranging from five to twenty years in custody, along with a potential fine of $250,000. Additionally, there is a mandatory supervised release period from five years up to life and an obligatory contribution of $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund per count. Restitution may also be ordered.
Lamont is accused of uploading at least four images and 22 videos depicting child pornography to his Dropbox account between January and December 2024. The material reportedly shows children as young as toddlers being sexually abused.
It is important to note that these charges are accusations, and Lamont remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program involves cooperation between U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
The investigation is being handled by the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force along with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox is leading the prosecution.
Lamont has been placed under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial set for April 15, 2025.
