Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters
Multiple images of nude underage girls were found on an email account linked to billionaire banker T. Denny Sanford, according to affidavits released Thursday.
Sanford, the richest man in South Dakota with connections to several powerful officials, was under investigation for three years for accessing and possessing child pornography. No charges were filed in South Dakota after the investigation concluded in May 2022.
Sanford had waged a legal battle for a year to keep the affidavits sealed, despite state law stating they should be released once a decision not to charge him had been made. But on April 6, the South Dakota Supreme Court upheld a 2022 circuit court ruling that the probable cause documents be released. Sanford had another chance to appeal that decision, but did not.