Rapid City Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of Child Pornography was sentenced on March 8, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.

Vance Allan Warthen, age 31, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Warthen will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The conviction stems from Warthen sexually exploiting an underage female in August 2019 at Rapid City by producing images of child pornography. He remained in possession of the images thereafter.

The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

Warthen was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.