BROOKINGS — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Brookings man to 17.5 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.

Keenan Chidaushe, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier. The prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release, and he was also ordered to pay $186 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

South Dakota U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell said in a news release that the conviction stems from incidents between Nov. 8, 2021, and Nov. 19, 2021, when Chidaushe used his cellphone to record sexual activity with a female under age 18. Chidaushe knew the victim was under age 18, Ramsdell said, adding that, as a result of this conviction, Chidaushe will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from custody. 

Chidaushe was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2022, and pleaded guilty on May 5 of this year, according to the release.

This case was investigated by the Brookings Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Clapper prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. attorneys’ offices and the justice department’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, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Chidaushe was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.