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 seven years in federal prison for child abuse and assault with a dangerous weapon. U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte delivered the sentence to Richard Hale, Jr., age 36, on September 22, 2025. The sentence includes three years of supervised release for each count, to be served concurrently. Hale was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Hale was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025 and pleaded guilty on June 26, 2025.
The case relates to an incident that took place in October 2024 within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in Eagle Butte. According to court documents, on October 5, 2024, Hale assaulted his intimate partner by striking her head multiple times with a cell phone while she was holding their infant child. During the incident, he also grabbed the child by the arm. The woman suffered a laceration to her head and the child sustained multiple injuries including skull and arm fractures.
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell stated: "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 investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services Detective Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen led the prosecution.
Hale was immediately remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
