Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a federal grand jury has indicted Hayden Sengua, a 25-year-old man from Rapid City, South Dakota, on charges related to child pornography. The indictment includes multiple counts of receipt and possession of child pornography.
Sengua was arraigned before Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted of receiving child pornography, Sengua faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to 20 years in custody, along with possible fines and supervised release. Possession charges carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years and similar financial penalties.
The indictment alleges that between May 2018 and January 2025, Sengua received and possessed over 14,000 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse across two Google accounts and several electronic devices. These materials reportedly include images involving infants and toddlers in abusive situations.
Sengua previously worked at Just Jymnastics in Rapid City until May 2024 and had prior employment as a gymnastics coach in Oregon. Authorities allege he may have possessed images of children from the Rapid City area whom he coached; however, these photos are not considered pornographic nor subject to criminal charges at this time.
Community members with information relevant to the investigation are encouraged to contact the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation at (605) 394-2298.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice launched in 2006 to address child sexual exploitation. The program combines efforts from federal, state, and local agencies to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
The investigation is being handled by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force along with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox is leading the prosecution.
After a detention hearing on June 27, Sengua was placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial scheduled for September 2, 2025.
