Eagle Butte Man Sentenced to 10 Years and One Month in Federal Prison After Jury Conviction for Sexual Abuse
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota announced that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced Emanual Semon, 24, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, to 10 years and one month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The sentencing took place on October 19, 2026.
Semon was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2024 and was found guilty of Sexual Abuse Without Consent and Sexual Abuse of a Minor following a three-day jury trial in May 2026. Evidence at trial established that on the afternoon of July 3, 2024, at a residence in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Semon engaged in sexual activity with a juvenile female without her consent, stopping only when an adult entered the room and interrupted him.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office because the Major Crimes Act mandates that certain violent crimes occurring in Indian Country be prosecuted in federal court rather than state court. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson as part of Project Safe Childhood. Semon was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南达科他州 Pine Ridge 印第安保留地全景，本案案发地位于该保留地内。rlh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经维基共享资源。Photo: A view of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the offense occurred. rlh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
