Pine Ridge Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on April 8, 2024.

Bert Roy Cottier, 58, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Cottier will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Cottier was indicted for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet, Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography and Attempted Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor by a federal grand jury in November of 2023. He pleaded guilty on January 10, 2024.

Cottier was arrested and federally indicted after attempting to entice two undercover law enforcement agents posing as 13- and 14-year-old females. Cottier sent the undercover agents multiple sexually explicit messages and obscene matter between March of 2023 and October of 2023.

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, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

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