CANTON, S.D. (KELO) — In what attorneys call one of the most unique child porn cases they’ve seen, a Lincoln County man will not go to prison. Tuesday, a Circuit Court Judge sentenced Rocky Hayes, 48, to 120 days on electronic home monitoring with work release.
We first told you about Rocky Hayes in 2022. That’s when authorities searched his Lincoln County home – across the street from an elementary school – after receiving a cyber tip that he possessed an illegal video of a child being raped. Authorities arrested Hayes for possession of child pornography. At the sentencing on Tuesday his defense attorney told the judge he’s never had a case like this and called it an anomaly.
Here is why.The videos deemed child porn are old. Hayes says he downloaded the videos two decades ago. There were only five videos. Child sex offenders typically have thousands of images and videos. Forensic investigation of his computers found no search history for child porn, either.
A psychosexual evaluation by a doctor who specializes in sex offenders indicated Hayes is not a threat to children or the public.Hayes was given the opportunity to speak and said his life has been ruined by a legal nightmare because of something foolish he did in his 20s.
He admitted the illegal files were on his computer. In a plea agreement with the Lincoln County States’ Attorney, Hayes pleaded no contest to one count of possession of child pornography. Along with 120 days of electronic home monitoring with work release he will pay a $1,000 fine and will be on supervised probation for four years.
Hayes’ full sentence which was handed down is 10 years in the state penitentiary, but the judge suspended all 10 years. The charges that Hayes faced stemmed from a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman released the following statement concerning the Hayes case.
“On November 26, 2024, the Honorable Rachel R. Rasmussen sentenced Rocky M. Hayes to ten years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary, with all ten years suspended. Hayes will be required to comply with the conditions of supervised probation for the next four years as part of his sentence. The Court also imposed a 120 day jail sentence with electronic monitoring authorized. Prior to pronouncing sentence, Judge Rasmussen highlighted the uniqueness of this case and the absence of evidence indicating the continued downloading of additional pornographic material. Hayes’ charges stem from a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. An investigation into Hayes’ activity was conducted by agents with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Following a search of Hayes’ home and office, investigators located a handful of videos identified as child pornography, as well as roughly two dozen videos identified as child exploitive material. It is believed that the child pornography was downloaded and saved to a device likely in the early 2000’s and that the Defendant had possessed those same videos throughout the last roughly twenty years, transferring them from one external memory device to another. Defendant’s conviction for one count of possession of child pornography will require him to register on South Dakota’s Sex Offender Registry.”
Senior Deputy State’s Attorney Amanda Eden, prosecutor in this case, stated “This case highlights the professionalism and expertise of our investigators and the tools they utilize to combat the trafficking of child sexually exploitative material. They are vigilante in their efforts to protect our community from those who seek to sexually exploit children.”
Thomas Wollman
