Watertown Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Assaulting a Child

ABERDEEN - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Watertown, South Dakota, man convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Sexual Abuse of a Minor.  The sentencing took place on November 3, 2025.

Gokoh Frank Brown, age 29, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, 20 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.  Brown must register as a sex offender once released from federal prison.

Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2024.  He was found guilty following a jury trial on May 21, 2025.

From January to August 2023, Brown, 27 years old at the time, repeatedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old household member while living on the Lake Traverse Reservation.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Law Enforcement, and the DCI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.

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 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.

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