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 Little Eagle, South Dakota, has been sentenced to federal prison for child abuse. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann sentenced Leslie Gerald Bobtail Bear, 27, to nine months in prison and two years of supervised release. Bobtail Bear was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bobtail Bear was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024 and pleaded guilty on June 16, 2025.
According to court documents, the conviction is related to events that took place between May 12, 2023, and November 21, 2024. During this period, Bobtail Bear and his romantic partner severely neglected their baby, resulting in the child's emergency hospitalization. The incident occurred in Corson County within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case under the Major Crimes Act. This federal law allows certain crimes committed in Indian country to be prosecuted in federal court rather than state court.
The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem handled the prosecution.
Bobtail Bear was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
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