A Sioux Falls man has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor using the internet. U.S. District Judge Lawrence L. Piersol handed down the sentence on January 6, 2025, as announced by United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell.
Kalvin Michael Frankus, aged 37, received a 10-year prison term followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.
Frankus was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024 and pleaded guilty on October 16, 2024. The conviction is related to an incident that occurred on March 10, 2024, when Frankus attempted to engage in a sexual encounter with what he believed was a 15-year-old girl. The individual was actually an undercover law enforcement officer posing as the teenager. Frankus drove to the arranged meeting location where he was subsequently arrested.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project involves collaboration between U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section along with federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuting the case.
Following his sentencing, Frankus was immediately placed into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.