Oglala Man found Guilty of Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and Commercial Sex Trafficking

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Gordon Weston, age 57, of Oglala, South Dakota, of Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet and Commercial Sex Trafficking following a two-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on January 10, 2024.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life on supervised release, and a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

Weston was indicted by a federal grand jury in September of 2021. 

Weston was employed as the Activities Coordinator at the Emergency Youth Shelter in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, from 2009 to 2021. Weston commonly requested juvenile females who stayed at the shelter to be “friends” with him on Facebook after they had left the shelter. Weston contacted at least one juvenile female and offered her money and transportation in exchange for sexual encounters with him.

This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has not been set. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.