RAPID CITY, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - US Attorney Ron Parsons announced on Wednesday that a US District Judge had sentenced a Bellevue, Nebraska, man convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and failure to register as a sex offender.

Sean Carlos Payne was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Payne was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2024 and pleaded guilty in April of 2025.

In October of 2024, the Meade County Sheriff’s Office received an emergent report of a missing 13-year-old girl. It was discovered that Payne groomed the girl for multiple weeks before her disappearance using apps such as Teen Chat, Discord, and Snapchat.

Payne persuad

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