New Effington Man Sentenced for Illegal Use of the Internet

Topics:  Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of South Dakota
16 August 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a New Effington, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Trafficking in Involuntary Servitude or Forced Labor was sentenced on August 15, 2016, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Toby Magnuson, a/k/a “Scooby,” age 45, was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Magnuson was one of four men who were arrested and federally indicted as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting persons willing to pay to have sex with underage girls obtained through the Internet. The conviction stemmed from Magnuson responding to an online advertisement posted by Division of Criminal Investigation undercover agents, which purported to offer young girls for sex. Following several messages with a person Magnuson believed to be associated with a 15-year old girl, but who was in fact an undercover agent, he proceeded to negotiate the time and place they would meet, along with the price he would pay, which was $100.

The undercover operation and arrests were a joint effort between the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Collins prosecuted the case.

Magnuson was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service.