Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A man from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for sexual abuse of a minor. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell and took place on August 4, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte.
Dion Michael Brown, age 55, received a sentence that includes five years of supervised release after his prison term and an order to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. He is also required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2023 and pleaded guilty on April 21, 2025. According to court documents, the offense occurred between May 1, 2020, and October 2, 2022, while Brown lived with the victim in Eagle Butte within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. At the time of the offense, Brown was between 50 and 52 years old; the victim was between 13 and 15 years old.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case under the Major Crimes Act. This federal law requires certain violent crimes that occur in Indian Country to be handled in federal court rather than state court.
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program coordinates resources among federal, state, and local agencies to prosecute offenders and assist victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The FBI and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen served as prosecutor.
Brown was remanded immediately into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
