Rapid City Man Convicted of Attempted Enticement of Minor During Sturgis Rally

Northeast Radio SD News – Rapid City, SD - A federal jury convicted a Rapid City man of Attempted Enticement of a Minor following a two-day trial that concluded on September 23, 2025, according to an announcement made by United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell.

Brandon Bishop, age 38, was found guilty of the charge stemming from an undercover operation conducted in western South Dakota in August 2024 during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The annual operation targets individuals preying on minors online.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that over five days, Bishop communicated on the social networking application MeetMe and via text messages with an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. The contact was initiated on a platform often utilized for dating and social connections. The supposed minor was, in fact, an undercover persona maintained by a Rapid City Police Detective assigned to the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

During their communications, Bishop requested that the minor send him a naked photograph. After the minor declined, Bishop proceeded to ask her to engage in sexual activity with him, describing various sex acts. Bishop also offered minor alcohol, drugs, and money in an attempt to persuade her to meet and "chill" with him.

The attempt to meet ended when Bishop arrived by bicycle at a nearby gas station on August 6, 2024, only to be confronted by law enforcement. Bishop fled the scene on foot and disposed of his cellular phone in a storm drain. The phone was recovered, and investigators located evidence of the crimes on the device. Bishop later asserted that he believed the person he was communicating with was an adult.

The charge of Attempted Enticement of a Minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in federal custody, along with a fine of up to and a minimum of five years of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

The investigation involved the coordinated efforts of the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Rapid City Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.

This case falls under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation nationwide.

A presentence investigation has been ordered, and a sentencing hearing for Bishop is scheduled for January 12, 2026.

The defendant has been remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.