Mission Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact With a Child

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact with a Child. The sentencing took place on March 4, 2025.

David Paxton, age 72, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Paxton was indicted for by a federal grand jury in October 2022. He pleaded guilty on January 3, 2024.

The conviction stemmed from conduct that occurred between August 24, 2017, and July 31, 2021, in Todd County, South Dakota. On at least one occasion during that period, Paxton sexually molested a child who was then between the ages of five and eight years old. The offense occurred within the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

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 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.

This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

Paxton was allowed to self-report to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service by June 2, 2025.