United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced on July 30 that Christofer Sand, an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, resident, was sentenced to three years and ten months in federal prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor. U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte handed down the sentence on July 27, which also includes five years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Sand, age 28, was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025 and pleaded guilty on August 27, 2026. The conviction stems from Sand having sexual intercourse with a minor child in Eagle Butte within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation during March 2025. At the time of the offense, Sand was 27 years old and the victim was 13.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case.
According to Parsons’ office, “This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.” The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Project Safe Childhood brings together federal, state, and local resources to locate offenders who exploit children and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood or related initiatives improving public safety across South Dakota—including criminal prosecutions and civil cases—the U.S. Attorney for the District serves as chief law enforcement officer for its district covering all of South Dakota, according to its official website.
Sand was immediately remanded into custody following sentencing.