Ryan Nigro Gets 10 Years for Reddit Child Enticement Attempt

Q: How did an undercover sting on Reddit lead to a decade behind bars for a Sioux Falls man?

An undercover Reddit sting led to a 10-year federal sentence because prosecutors said Ryan Nigro took concrete steps to entice who he believed was a 12-year-old girl into a sexual encounter, then showed up for the planned meeting. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nigro, 34, used Reddit to contact an online persona that was actually an undercover Homeland Security Investigations special agent. During the chats, prosecutors said he raised the subject of sex and arranged to meet the supposed child at a Sioux Falls hotel. When he arrived at the hotel, law enforcement arrested him. That sequence — online messages, sexual discussion, and an arranged in-person meeting — gave investigators digital evidence of intent and an overt act toward carrying out the offense, which is central in attempted enticement cases. Federal cases like this often rely on preserved chat logs and the suspect’s actions in traveling to the meeting location. Nigro was indicted in April 2024 and later went to trial. A jury found him guilty on June 4. He has now been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. In addition to prison, he must serve five years of supervised release and register as a sex offender for 25 years. So, although there was no actual child, the case turned on what Nigro believed, what he said online, and the fact that he acted on those communications by going to the hotel meeting set up by the undercover agent.

3 articles · Updated · Dakota News Now · Sep 16

A federal judge sentenced 34-year-old Sioux Falls man Ryan Nigro to 10 years in prison for attempted enticement of a minor using the internet.
Prosecutors said Nigro used Reddit to contact someone he believed was a 12-year-old girl, raised sex during the exchange and set up a meeting at a local hotel.
Law enforcement arrested him when he arrived because the online persona was actually an undercover Homeland Security Investigations special agent.
A jury convicted Nigro on June 4 after an April 2024 indictment; he also must serve five years of supervised release and register as a sex offender for 25 years.