Sisseton Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Assault of Partner by Strangulation or Suffocation

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Sisseton, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for aggravated sexual abuse by force, threat, or fear, and assault of partner by strangulation or suffocation.

Joshua John Max, age 35, was indicted on February 5, 2019.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Gerdes on May 13, 2019, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.

According to the Indictment, on or about the 25th day of April, 2015, Max knowingly engaged, and attempted to engage in, a sexual act by using force, by threatening, and by placing in fear of death and serious bodily injury, and unlawfully assaulted an intimate partner by strangling and suffocating. 

The maximum penalties upon conviction for each count are as follows:  up to life imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine; a mandatory minimum term of five (5) years, up to life, of supervised release; $100 special assessment for victim/witness fund; $5,000 assessment to the domestic trafficking fund; and restitution may be ordered.

The charges are merely accusations and Max is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The investigation is being conducted by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe’s Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.   

Max was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.  A trial date of June 25, 2019, has been set.