Oglala Man Sentenced to Nearly 10 Years in Federal Prison for Assaulting a Woman by Strangulation and for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced an Oglala, South Dakota, man convicted of Committing a Crime of Violence While Failing to Register and Assault by Strangulation and Suffocation. The sentencing took place on July 11, 2025.

Aric Singing Goose, a/k/a Eric Sharpfish, age 37, was sentenced to nine years and nine months in federal prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

A federal grand jury indicted Singing Goose in December 2023. He pleaded guilty on April 9, 2025.

Singing Goose is required to register as a sex offender based on convictions secured in federal court in South Dakota for two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in 2009. In July 2023, Singing Goose was living in Oglala, South Dakota, within the Pine Ridge Reservation, and knowingly failed to update mandatory registration as a sex offender with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Sex Offender Compliance Office.

Then, on the afternoon of October 31, 2023, Singing Goose was drinking with a 16-year-old female at Oglala. Following a bout of drinking, the two got into a verbal argument that turned physical. Singing Goose took the minor to a location near the Oglala Dam, threw her to the ground, got on top of her, and placed his hands around her throat. In doing so, he left his DNA on her neck. The victim’s circulation was cut off and she lost consciousness, but she later awoke.

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 U.S. Marshals Service and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.

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