Swift Bear Man Sentenced for Assault

PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Swift Bear, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on June 24, 2024.

William Moran, age 35, was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Moran was indicted by a federal grand jury in December of 2023. He pleaded guilty on March 21, 2024.

On November 18, 2023, Moran was consuming alcohol and socializing with a group of individuals in the Swift Bear Community, near White River, South Dakota. While there, he assaulted a woman, punching her and knocking her to the ground. Thereafter, he repeatedly punched and kicked her in the head and face. Other people tried to intervene, but he resisted efforts to stop him from assaulting the woman. He knocked another person to the ground. The woman was treated at a hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota, because she suffered hemorrhaging in her cranium, and had respiratory failure due to a collapsed lung. The area where the assault occurred is 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 investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

Moran was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to serve his sentence.