Sioux Falls Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Assaulting Teenaged Girls

ABERDEEN - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a man from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact. The sentencing took place on November 3, 2025.

Chico Baker, age 24, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Baker was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024.  He pleaded guilty on July 15, 2025.

Between December 10, 2023, and January 20, 2024, Baker had sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl without her consent and engaged in sexual contact with two 15-year-old girls.  The conduct occurred in rural McLaughlin, South Dakota, in the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. 

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, authorizes certain crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country to be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.

This case was also 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 and the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

Baker was immediately returned to the South Dakota State Penitentiary, where he is serving an eight year sentence for Reckless Burning (Aiding and Abetting). He will be remanded to federal custody following the completion of that sentence.