Custer Man Sentenced for Receipt of Child Pornography

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Custer, South Dakota, man for receiving child pornography. The sentencing took place on April 25, 2024.

Nathan Frisch, a 43-year-old former teacher in both Custer and Rapid City, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Frisch was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution, a $5,000 special assessment to the Victims of Trafficking Fund, a $5,000 special assessment to the Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Assistance Fund, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Frisch was indicted for Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury in March of 2023. On January 17, 2024, he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.

Frisch admitted that he knowingly downloaded child pornography from the internet, using his cell phone and laptop between September 4, 2022, and December 30, 2022. Frisch also admitted that he used the "Reface" application to transpose the faces of female minors onto sexually explicit depictions of adult women.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Frisch was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.