Sioux Empire Today

A man from Rapid City has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on March 31, 2025, following the conviction of 48-year-old Blaine Kills Back.

Kills Back will also serve five years of supervised release and is required to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. This sentencing comes after Kills Back pleaded guilty on January 22, 2025, following an indictment by a federal grand jury in September 2024.

Kills Back's legal requirement to register as a sex offender stems from two prior sexual assault convictions. In February 2000, he was first convicted for Sexual Abuse of a Minor. Five years later, in February 2005, he was convicted of Sexual Contact without Consent in Pennington County, South Dakota. This incident occurred at a federal halfway house facility while he was on supervised release for his previous conviction.

Kills Back has faced charges for failing to register as a sex offender three times before, in 2015, 2018, and 2023. After being released from prison in July 2024, he began supervised release in Rapid City. Although initially reporting to the Rapid City Police Department’s Sex Offender Registry Office, Kills Back failed to register a valid address, residing in a prohibited community safety zone in Box Elder, South Dakota, and thereafter did not attempt to register an acceptable address. His location was unknown for over a month.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project leverages federal, state, and local efforts to locate and prosecute offenders while safeguarding victims. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Kills Back was immediately placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after the sentencing.