Onetime N.D. Pastor Gets 3 Years In Sex Sting Case
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A onetime pastor in Miller has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after admitting to trying to solicit sex from someone he thought was a teenage girl.
The office of U.S. Attorney Randolph Seiler says Joseph Raleigh was sentenced Monday in federal court in Pierre. Raleigh earlier pleaded guilty to attempted trafficking with respect to involuntary servitude and forced labor.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped two charges, including attempted commercial sex trafficking of children.
The 35-year-old Raleigh was arrested last October in Blunt in a law enforcement online sting operation. Authorities say Raleigh in emails with undercover agents negotiated a price and arranged to have sex with a 15-year-old girl.
Raleigh resigned from the Miller church within days of his arrest.
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