Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City man has been indicted on charges related to child pornography. Hayden Sengua, 25, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 26, 2025. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann and pleaded not guilty.
The charges include Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography. If convicted, Sengua faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for each count of receiving child pornography, with the possibility of up to 20 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine. He also faces supervised release ranging from five years to life and must pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund for each conviction count. Restitution may be ordered as well.
Sengua is accused of receiving and possessing over 14,000 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse between May 2018 and January 2025. The material was allegedly stored in two Google accounts and various electronic devices. The collection included depictions of infants and toddlers being abused and engaging in sex acts with animals, along with computer-generated child pornography.
Sengua worked at Just Jymnastics in Rapid City until his employment ended in May 2024; he had previously been employed as a gymnastics coach in Oregon. Allegations suggest he possessed images of children from the Rapid City area who may have been under his coaching; however, these images are not considered pornographic or subject to criminal charges at this time.
The investigation is ongoing, with community members encouraged to contact the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation if they have pertinent information about Sengua.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice launched in 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation. It involves collaboration among federal, state, and local resources to apprehend offenders and rescue victims.
The investigation is conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation - Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force alongside the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox is handling prosecution duties.
After a detention hearing on June 27, Sengua was placed under U.S. Marshals Service custody pending trial set for September 2, 2025.
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