RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The sentencing took place on September 14, 2026.
Griffin Cross, 31, was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Cross will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Cross was indicted for Sexual Abuse of a Minor by a federal grand jury in February 2026. He pleaded guilty on June 9, 2026.
In November of 2025, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety received a report of Cross sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old girl in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Cross exchanged nude pictures with the victim over a social media site, sending her a picture of his private anatomy. Cross then met up with the victim at his residence and sexually abused her.
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 Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.
Cross was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — South Dakota — U.S. Department of Justice press release.