Wanblee Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Federal Prison

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Wanblee, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The sentencing took place on June 28, 2024.

Benjamin Francis Sitting Up, Jr., 38, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Sitting Up was indicted for Sexual Abuse and Abusive Sexual Contact by a federal grand jury. He pleaded guilty on April 12, 2024, to Sexual Abuse of a Minor.

The conviction stemmed from Sitting Up sexually abusing a thirteen-year-old female in November of 2023. In 2019, Sitting Up had been convicted of transferring obscene material to another female. A federal judge had sentenced him to three years in prison with supervision to follow. After being released from prison, Sitting Up digitally raped another minor in his Wanblee, South Dakota, home, leading to the instant charges. In sentencing Sitting Up to fifteen years, the district court judge explained the statutory maximum sentence was appropriate given the defendant’s history of victimizing young girls.     

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 was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.

Sitting Up was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.