EDGEMONT, SD — A federal judge in western South Dakota sentenced a former police officer on Thursday, Feb. 17 to 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting two under-age females in Edgemont.
In September of last year, Francis “Frank” Kistler plead guilty to one count of Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. In exchange for the guilty plea, additional charges against Kistler, including attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and transfer of obscene material to a minor were dropped.
The crimes happened while Kistler was on duty and occured between January 2019 and July 2019.
One of the victims says Kistler used his position in law enforcement to get her to send him nude photos through Snapchat, which he then screenshot to save.
According to the Fall River County Herald Star, Kistler was hired by Custer County as a Sheriff’s Reserve in November of 1992 and resigned from that position in May of 1994. In 1994, he was hired as a Temporary Deputy Sheriff and held that position until April of 2013.
After resigning from the Custer County Sheriff’s Office over allegations of sexual misconduct, Kistler moved to Edgemont in June of 2017 and was hired by the Fall River County Sheriff’s Office one year later.
Since no crime was apparently committed while he was a member of the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, he was never charged in that instance.
Sometime between January 1 and June 24 of 2019, sexually explicit photos of a 17-year Edgemont girl were taken and later found on his phone. Investigators identified the girl and conducted interviews in which the girl said Kistler used his position as a law enforcement officer to obtain the nude photos found of her on his phone.
Kistler admitted to having a sexual relationship with the girl and said that he “loved her,” knowing she was 16 or 17 years old.
He also said he received sexually explicit photos of a 13-year-old girl and sent images of himself to her via snapchat. Kistler also admitted to inappropriately touching both girls.
Prior to being hired by Fall River County, Kistler had worked in law enforcement for the previous 28 years, which included service in Charles Mix County, Custer County, and in Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, in addition to jobs in New Mexico and Oklahoma.
