SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls businessman charged with possession of child pornography is awaiting his next court appearance. According to court documents filed in Lincoln County, on September 25th of 2022, an employee at the electronic service provider Dropbox saw a file believed to be child pornography.

This resulted in a cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to a probable cause affidavit, the file contained a 16-second video of an adult male with a child appearing to be approximately 9 to 12 years old.

That cyber tip was passed on to an agent with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Agents then searched a home belonging to Rocky Hayes near a Harrisburg elementary school. Court papers say they found two additional videos on an external hard drive in his home office.

That’s when the state issued an arrest warrant for the 47-year-old. The Secretary of State’s office says Hayes runs at least three businesses out of his home. He does marketing, design and communications along with managing a vacation property. He’s also a photographer. The internet appears to have been scrubbed of information and photos of Hayes.

His Facebook page has been taken down, his business page is password protected and YouTube videos he created are no longer available. Hayes faces 3 counts of possession of child pornography and a judge set his bond at $25,000 cash only.

As of 2020, Rocky Hayes was listed as the chairman of the Jones County Republican party.
In a statement to KELOALND News the Executive Director of the South Dakota Republican Party, Madison Sheahan, says “The South Dakota Republican Party has terminated its relationship with Rocky Hayes and Didactic Productions.”