United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a former Box Elder Police Department officer who resided at Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, South Dakota, was sentenced on May 27, 2022, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Ricardo Edward Franc Olandez, age 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2021 for numerous counts of sexual abuse. Olandez pleaded guilty to Aggravated Sexual Abuse on November 5, 2021. Olandez was sentenced to 13 years and four months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction relates to Olandez forcing a minor female to engage in sexual acts with him in 2021 on the Ellsworth Air Force Base.
This case was investigated by the Department of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama prosecuted the case.
Olandez was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.