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 Eagle Butte, South Dakota, has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after being convicted of child abuse and assault with a dangerous weapon. U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte delivered the sentence on September 22, 2025.
Richard Hale, Jr., 36, will serve three years of supervised release following his prison term for each count, with the sentences running concurrently. He was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Hale was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025 and pleaded guilty on June 26, 2025. The charges relate to an incident that occurred on October 5, 2024, in Eagle Butte within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. During this incident, Hale assaulted his intimate partner by repeatedly striking her head with a cell phone while she held their infant child. He also grabbed the child by the arm during the assault. The woman suffered a laceration to her head and the child sustained multiple injuries including skull and arm fractures.
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell stated: “This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services Detective Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen led the prosecution.
Hale was immediately remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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