ABERDEEN — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - South Dakota), published as received.

ABERDEEN - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a jury has convicted Joseph Darrell Peterson, Jr., age 47, of Brookings, South Dakota (formerly of Veblen, South Dakota) of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Aberdeen, South Dakota. 

Each conviction carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a possible maximum term of life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine; upon release from prison, Peterson will be on supervised release for at least 5 years and possibly up to life.  He must also pay $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and restitution to the victim may also be ordered. 

The investigation discovered that over the course of 13 years, in multiple states, and specifically in 2010 through 2012 while living on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, in Veblen, South Dakota, Peterson engaged in repeated penetrative sexual acts with a child who was under 12 years old.  In 2023, that child had the courage to come forward to law enforcement and an investigation ensued. Peterson was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2024 and convicted June 17, 2025. 

This case was investigated by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribal Law Enforcement, South Dakota DCI, and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person AUSA for the Great Plains Region Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case. 

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.

This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which aims to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people through the resolution of MMIP cases and communication, coordination, and collaboration with federal, Tribal, state, and local partners.  The Department views this work as a priority for its law enforcement components. Through the MMIP Regional Outreach Program, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify MMIP cases and issues in Tribal communities and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. This prosecution upholds the Department’s mission to the unwavering pursuit of justice on behalf of victims and their families despite the passage of time.

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. 

A presentence investigation was ordered, and sentencing is set for September 14, 2026. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.