ICE HSI, partner, child sexual abuse investigation leads to life sentence for North Dakota man
BISMARCK, N.D. – A southwestern North Dakota man was sentenced in federal court Monday to life in prison for transporting a minor for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force, the Pennington County (South Dakota) Sheriff’s Office and Bowman County (North Dakota) Sheriff’s Department.
Douglas James Schneider, 51 of Rhame, North Dakota, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor to life in federal prison on one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
“No one should be forced to live in a world of isolation, servitude and terror,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt, of HSI St. Paul. “HSI and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the vulnerable and will aggressively investigate criminals who traffic children for sexual purposes."
The investigation determined that between 2013 and 2018, Schneider sexually abused a minor child who at the time was under 12 years of age. Sometime between April and July 2018, Schneider transported the minor child from North Dakota to Montana with the intent of, and engaging in, unlawful sexual acts with the minor.
“This was an egregious case of victimization of a child. The multi-jurisdictional group of law enforcement, local, state, and federal, masterfully developed this case for prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Chase, and “this sentence means this defendant will never victimize a child ever again.”
In addition to his prison term Schneider was also sentenced to 10 years supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $19,215. The minimum statutory sentence upon conviction for this offense is 10 years imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s office for the District of North Dakota, with Assistant United States Attorney Gary Delorme assigned to the case.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of DHS, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
Learn more about HSI Bismark at @HSISaintPaul.
Updated: