Rapid City man pleads guilty for role in sex trafficking during 2021 Strgis motorcycle rally

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - A Rapid City man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to attempted enticement of a minor using the internet.

Alexander Wayne Basaldu’s plea stems from the sex trafficking sting conducted during the 2021 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

According to the factual basis statement, Basaldu admits to trying to entice who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. Over a month South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigations Special Agent Brian Freeouf pretended to be the girl on a social media site, exchanging messages with Basaldu. Basaldu repeatedly asked the “girl” to send him pornographic images and to meet him for a sexual encounter. The agent, posing as the girl, agreed to meet Basaldu at Stevens High School on Aug. 6, 2021. When Basaldu showed up for the meeting he was arrested.

With this plea, two other counts (attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted receipt of child pornography) were dismissed.

Basaldu will be sentenced at a later hearing. The mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years, with the maximum of life in federal prison; and a $250,000 fine.

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