RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography was sentenced on November 18, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.
James McKinstry, age 75, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution, a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and a $5,000 special assessment to the Victims of Trafficking Fund. McKinstry will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
McKinstry was indicted for Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury in February of 2021. He pleaded guilty on July 25, 2022.
McKinstry was arrested and federally indicted following three Cybertips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. A forensic examination of McKinstry’s devices found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including children as young as infants.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.
McKinstry was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.