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Press Release

Ideal Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced an Ideal, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The sentencing took place on December 11, 2023.

Braeden McLean, age 21, was sentenced to all time served through January 17, 2024, equal to approximately 10 months in custody, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

McLean was indicted by a federal grand jury in May of 2023. He pleaded guilty on September 14, 2023.

The conviction stems from conduct that occurred in March of 2023 in Tripp County, South Dakota, wherein McLean engaged in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. The girl’s family subsequently became aware of the relationship and reported McLean to the Winner Police Department.

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 Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Winner Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.   

This case was 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.

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

Updated December 18, 2023

Topics
Project Safe Childhood
Indian Country Law and Justice