United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Belle Fourche, South Dakota, man convicted of Commercial Sex Trafficking was sentenced on July 22, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

James Eugene Larive, Jr., age 43, who was convicted following a federal jury trial in Rapid City in April, was sentenced to 10 years in custody, eight years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Larive was one of nine men who were arrested and federally indicted as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting persons willing to pay to have sex with underage girls obtained through the Internet. All nine men were indicted for Commercial Sex Trafficking.

The conviction stemmed from Larive responding to a Craigslist.com advertisement posted by Division of Criminal Investigation undercover agents, which purported to offer young girls for sex. Following several e-mails with a person Larive believed to be associated with a 15-year old girl, but who was in fact an undercover agent, he proceeded to negotiate the time and place they would meet, along with the price he would pay, which was the trade of an expensive smart phone.

The undercover operation and arrests were a joint effort between the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, 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.

Larive was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.