St. Thomas More Teacher Arrested for Possession of Child Porn

By Heather Murschel
Black Hills Pioneer
August 21, 2014

http://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/article_12b86608-2949-11e4-b058-001a4bcf887a.html

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SPEARFISH — A St. Thomas More teacher was arrested for possession of child pornography and terminated from his position within the Rapid City Catholic School System.

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Authorities say Andrew Hiipakka, 26, of Rapid City allegedly had numerous images that exploit children for sexual gratification on his personal computer.

Tuesday’s arrest came after detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force confirmed a tip they had been given last week that led to a search warrant at the middle school teacher’s residence.

Black Hills Fugitive Task Force took Hippakka into custody without incident.

Detectives discovered that he was employed as a teacher, and after contacting the Rapid City Catholic School System about the investigation they “immediately” terminated Hippakka’s employment.

“The RCCSS has been fully cooperative with law enforcement throughout the investigation,” said Tarah Heupel, Rapid City Police Department’s public information officer.

Authorities say the investigation will continue until and are asking the public to notify the Rapid City Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 394-4134.

This is just one of several arrests that have occurred as a result of investigations conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, a division of the Department of Criminal Investigation.

There are almost 40 ongoing cases in South Dakota regarding child pornography, sexual abuse of a minor, and sex trafficking. The following cases are just a few that have occurred in Rapid City and surrounding areas so far this summer.

One recent sting netted six men arrested during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in connection with sex crimes.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the state reported that five men were arrested for commercial sex trafficking and all are from out-of-state.

“All of the defendants allegedly negotiated with law enforcement agents posing as pimps, and agreed to pay for sex with underage girls, ranging from 12-15 years of age,” Ace Crawford, U.S. state’s attorney Brendan V. Johnson spokesperson in Rapid City.

Those arrested include Alexandros Thymaras, 32, Calgary, Alberta Canada, Phillip Holden, 23, Alliance, Neb., Timithy Fielding, 50, Centerville, Pa., Robert Clyde, 65, Fayetteville, N.C., and Walter Curaba, 44, Glendora, Calif.

There was one additional arrest made, but final charging decisions are pending.

After Jackly’s announcement, Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jergeris responded.

"Combating sex crimes in our communities continues to be a priority for area law enforcement. We appreciate the partnership between DCI, the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, and the Rapid City Police Department, which makes investigations like this possible," he said.

During the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last year, an undercover sting operation resulted in nine arrests for commercial sex trafficking. They were indicted after law enforcement said they responded to online advertisements they created and began negotiating to have sex with 12- or 13-year-old children.

Stemming from the 2013 Rally investigation one of the nine suspects arrested included James Eugene Larive, Jr., 43, of Belle Fourche. After a federal jury trial, he was recently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and eight years of supervised release for commercial sex trafficking.

In June, a U.S. Air Force captain was arrested for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography and if found guilty could face up to 20 years in state prison.

Michael J. Fech, 30, was indicted on June 17. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on June 19, and he pleaded not guilty to the indictment and remains to be presumed innocent until proven guilty at an upcoming trial.

Although Fech has been released, the attorney general’s office dictates that the penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment up to 20 years’ imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.

Just how many South Dakotans have been indicted, facing charges or have been charged with child sex crimes? A full list of the ongoing and closed cases for 2013 and so far this year is online www.justice.gov/usao/sd/news.html.