United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man convicted of Tampering with a Witness, Victim, or an Informant was sentenced on January 5, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornamnn.
Todd Stands Alone, f/k/a Todd Brave Crow, age 37, was sentenced to 36 months in custody, 1 year of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Stands Alone was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 11, 2015. He pled guilty on July 18, 2016.
The conviction stems from an incident on the evening of January 23, 2015, when the juvenile victim reported to her family that she had been beaten up by an adult family member while she was babysitting. Upon relaying these events to her family, the victim was immediately told not to report this incident to anyone. Stands Alone told the victim on numerous occasions not to speak to anyone about the incident, harassing the victim to the point that she did not know who she could trust. Stands Alone also persuaded his mother and others in the family to pressure the victim into not speaking to authorities or contact anyone regarding the incident. This harassing behavior continued for multiple days.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
Stands Alone was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.