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Press Release

Mission Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

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 a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencing took place on April 21, 2023.

Frank White Thunder, age 35, was sentenced to 20 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.

White Thunder was indicted by a federal grand jury in September of 2022.  He pleaded guilty on January 11, 2023.

White Thunder was convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact in 2008. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender and to update his registration within three business days of relocation or changing employment. In February of 2022, White Thunder was released from prison and began a period of supervised release. White Thunder initially registered and resided at an address in Mission, but he subsequently moved from his registered address and did not update his registration. His whereabouts were unknown until his arrest in Mission on August 13, 2022. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. 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.

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

Updated April 27, 2023

Topics
Project Safe Childhood
Indian Country Law and Justice