Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota man has been sentenced for failing to register as a sex offender. Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange of the U.S. District Court sentenced Patrick Red Legs to one year and 11 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Red Legs was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Red Legs, aged 31, was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2024 and pleaded guilty on May 15, 2025. He is required under federal law to register as a sex offender due to his conviction for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl. This marks his third conviction for failing to register.
After being released from prison on June 10, 2024, Red Legs registered an address in McLaughlin with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe but moved shortly after without updating his registration. His move was prohibited because children lived at his girlfriend's home in Little Eagle where he relocated. He updated his address only after being arrested for violating supervised release on August 12, 2024.
The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program combines resources from federal, state, and local levels to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
The United States Marshals Service investigated the case while Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted it. Following sentencing, Red Legs was remanded into custody.
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