PINE RIDGE, S.D. — A man who spent more than a decade working with kids on the Pine Ridge Reservation is headed to federal prison for 15 years for sex trafficking.
Gordon Weston, 57, was employed as the Activities Coordinator at the Emergency Youth Shelter in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, from 2009 to 2021. Weston commonly requested juvenile females who stayed at the shelter to be “friends” with him on Facebook after they had left the shelter. Weston contacted at least one juvenile female and offered her money and transportation in exchange for sexual encounters with him.
Gordon Weston, 57, was indicted by a federal grand jury in September of 2021.
Earlier this year, a jury found him guilty of enticement of a minor and sex trafficking.
He faced up to life in prison. This week a judge has sentenced him to 15 years behind bars, followed by five years of supervision.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
