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 McLaughlin, South Dakota man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted of abusive sexual contact. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann handed down the sentence on September 8, 2025.
Malachi Adam Marcus Howard, 22, will also serve ten years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Howard was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2024 and pleaded guilty on June 16, 2025. The conviction is related to conduct that took place between November 1, 2023, and March 19, 2024. During this period, Howard caused a 10-year-old child to engage in sexual activity in Corson County, South Dakota, within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Major Crimes Act. This federal statute allows certain crimes that occur in Indian country to be prosecuted in federal court rather than state court.
According to the press release: "This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc."
The investigation involved both the FBI and Valley City (ND) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem handled prosecution duties for this case.
Howard was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
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