FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :    Monday, April 29, 2013
CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605)773-3215

Two Men Arrested in Online Predator Sting in Rapid City

PIERRE, S.D  -   Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that local, state and federal law enforcement arrested two individuals over the weekend as a result of an online predator sting in Rapid City. Suspects responded to internet ads as part of the operation, which resulted in their arrests. Jacob Lee Jarrett, 28, Rapid City and Vincent Paul Vulpi, 49, Milwaukie, Oregon have been arrested and charged each with one count of solicitation of a minor, class 4 felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and/or $20,000 fine.  The arrests were a result of a sting operation where the suspects agreed to meet with a 14 year-old girl who was an undercover officer.

“Law enforcement intends to remain proactive with efforts to protect our children. I am extremely disappointed that Backpage.com and Craigslist are providing the means by which children are harmed without sufficient monitoring safeguards in place,” said Jackley.

In September of 2011, Attorney General Jackley joined other state Attorney General’s addressing Backpage.com’s ongoing failure to effectively limit prostitution and sexual trafficking of its website. The link to the AG letter is listed below.

Jarrett and Vulpi are presumed innocent until such time as proven guilty.
Agencies that assisted in this operation were the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, FBI and the Division of Criminal Investigation. The efforts of this operation were coordinated with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Click on the link here

-30-