A former Department of Public Safety employee is being charged with possessing child pornography, soliciting to commit second degree rape-domestic abuse and unlawfully using a computer system.
Mark Rathbun, 67-years-old, is facing 37-years in total if convicted.
Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the charges at a press conference Nov. 3. Jackley said part of the scheme involved Rathbun sharing some confidential state driver license information with third parties.
Rathbun was a Senior Driver’s License Examiner with the Aberdeen Driver Licensing Office. He had access to a confidential database that contained driver license information. Jackley said Department of Criminal Investigation agents found imagery and pictures taken off that database on devices owned by Rathbun.
“Pictures, dates of birth, social security numbers, phone numbers and other confidential identifying information including addresses,” Jackley said. “Additional search warrants were obtained, and we have seized several items of interest. We’ve seized about 30 devices. On one of the devices it contains over one million images, not all of those are illegal but it’s a significant amount of data.”
Search warrants also uncovered child pornography on the devices. AI-generated adult pornography, commonly called a “deepfake,” was also uncovered through the investigation.
In state law, AI deepfakes involving children is a felony offense. According to Jackley, under current state statute, you can legally possess AI-generated pornography of a non-consenting adult. Distributing the same materials is a misdemeanor.
“This session, as Attorney General, I plan to again work with the state Legislature to make possessing and making AI-generated pornography of a non-consenting adult a serious felony,” Jackley pledged.
He said the victims they are aware of have been notified, and they’ll continue to actively monitor that as they continue going through the data.
“Clearly, we reached a point where we believed there existed probable cause on the solicitation of second-degree rape. Certainly, we talked to the victim. Obviously, she’s cooperating and part of this case,” Jackley said. “We anticipate going through the imagery, going through other evidence so that we can go to victims. Part of the question they’re going to ask is, ‘What has happened to me? What has happened to my personal information? Am I part of a different solicitation?’ So, as we go through this process, we will learn more.”
He added that he anticipates additional charges involving victims in multiple South Dakota counties.
Court documents show that Rathbun "did command, hire, request or solicit another person to engage in specific conduct which would constitute the commission of Second Degree Rape or an attempt to commit Second Degree Rape against a person with whom he is in a qualifying domestic relationship."
The allegations against Rathbun range from August 2024 until Oct. 30, 2025. He was arrested Friday and is being held in Brown County Jail.
Rathbun was a DPS employee for approximately six years. DPS has since terminated his employment. Jackley said the Department of Public Safety is cooperating with the investigation.
