Rushmore State News

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell has announced the sentencing of an Oglala, South Dakota man for committing a crime of violence while failing to register as a sex offender and assault by strangulation and suffocation. The sentencing was carried out by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on July 11, 2025.

Aric Singing Goose, also known as Eric Sharpfish, aged 37, received a sentence of nine years and nine months in federal prison. This will be followed by eight years of supervised release. He is also required to pay $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The indictment against Singing Goose was issued by a federal grand jury in December 2023, and he pleaded guilty on April 9, 2025.

Singing Goose's obligation to register as a sex offender stems from convictions in federal court in South Dakota for two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in 2009. In July 2023, while residing in Oglala within the Pine Ridge Reservation, he failed to update his mandatory registration with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Sex Offender Compliance Office.

On October 31, 2023, after consuming alcohol with a 16-year-old female at Oglala, an argument ensued between them that escalated into physical violence. Singing Goose took the minor near the Oglala Dam where he assaulted her by placing his hands around her throat until she lost consciousness but later regained it.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case under the Major Crimes Act which requires certain violent crimes occurring in Indian country to be tried in federal court rather than state court.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen handled the prosecution.

Singing Goose has been remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service immediately following his sentencing.