A South Dakota woman accused of sexually exploiting minors is being sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Twenty-six-year-old Emily Yeary of Summerset was convicted on seven federal charges, including enticement to travel for illegal sexual activity and possession of child pornography.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of South Dakota, Yeary lured underage victims on social media by presenting herself as an underage boy.
Yeary traveled to several states over three years to meet with victims and convince them to run away with her. Prosecutors said she sexually abused at least one victim and kept photos of it. After Yeary was arrested in Rapid City in 2022, she tried to persuade one victim to not testify against her.
The victims are minors from Mississippi, Kentucky, Florida and Missouri. Yearly pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2024.
“This is among the most heinous cases of child exploitation our office has prosecuted,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “The lengths to which Emily Yeary went to groom and then manipulate these young girls is reprehensible, and the use of these minor victims as pawns in a game of sexual abuse and terror is unforgivable. Yeary earned herself every month of today’s federal sentence.”
The investigation was led by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. More than a dozen law enforcement agencies from several states assisted in the investigation.