South Dakota man sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting Illinois minor

URBANA, Ill. — A South Dakota man was sentenced Monday to more than 22 years in federal prison for blackmailing a minor female in Illinois to send him nude photographs of herself.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Champaign (Illinois) Police Department, and the Huron (South Dakota) Police Department.

Austin A. Burns, 21, of Huron, South Dakota, was sentenced Jan. 25 by U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce to 22 ½ years (270 months) in federal prison.  Burns pleaded guilty Sept. 21, 2015, to one count of sexually exploiting a minor. Burns admitted that soon after he began communicating online with a minor female from Champaign in 2014, she told him that she was 13 years old. Burns demanded the girl send him naked photographs of herself and threatened that if she did not comply, he would post naked photographs of her online.

Burns was ordered to serve five years of supervised release following completion of his prison sentence and he will be required to register as a sex offender. Burns has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest Aug. 14, 2014, in Huron.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson, Central District of Illinois, prosecuted the case.  

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.