United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Sex Trafficking of a Child was sentenced on July 27, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Robert Eugene Stefani, age 46, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $5,100.
Stefani was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 7, 2021. He pled guilty on March 24, 2022.
The conviction stemmed from incidents between June of 2019 and October 2020. Stefani paid cash to a 15-year-old girl in exchange for sex with him on multiple occasions in Sioux Falls. The meetings between the two were arranged over the internet and the use of cell phones.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Stefani was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.