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
A man from Porcupine, South Dakota, has been sentenced to federal prison for assaulting a juvenile within the Pine Ridge Reservation. United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on August 18, 2025.
Elijah Keith Battese, 25, received a sentence of one year and one day in federal prison. After serving his term, he will be subject to three years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Battese was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2025 on two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. He pleaded guilty to one count on May 2, 2025.
According to court records, the incident occurred on September 27, 2024. Battese struck a juvenile male with a vacuum handle, causing a laceration near the victim's right ear that required eleven sutures from emergency medical services. The assault took place within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this matter under the Major Crimes Act, which requires certain violent crimes committed in Indian Country to be handled in federal court rather than state court.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder led the prosecution.
Battese was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
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