Brookings Man Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child
ABERDEEN / Monday, September 28, 2026 - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Brookings, South Dakota (formerly of Veblen, SD), man convicted after a jury trial of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child. The sentencing took place on September 21, 2026.
Joseph Darrell Peterson, Jr., age 47, was sentenced to Life in federal prison and must pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.
Peterson was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2024. He was found guilty of both counts following a jury trial the week of June 15, 2026.
Over the course of twelve years, starting in 2006 when the child was just 6 years old, Peterson began to groom and sexually assault her. Peterson lived in the home with the child and was a parental figure to her. Over the next 12 years, throughout multiple states and locations including the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, Peterson repeatedly and illegally raped and sexually abused the child. The child was able to escape the home and abuse when she was 19. Then in 2023, she summoned the courage to report the abuse to law enforcement. An investigation ensued resulting in the federal prosecution and leading to the guilty verdicts and sentence.
This case was investigated by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribal Law Enforcement, South Dakota DCI, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person AUSA for the Great Plains Region Troy R. Morley 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 is part of the Department of Justice’s Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which aims to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people through the resolution of MMIP cases and communication, coordination, and collaboration with federal, Tribal, state, and local partners. The Department views this work as a priority for its law enforcement components. Through the MMIP Regional Outreach Program, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify MMIP cases and issues in Tribal communities and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. This prosecution upholds the Department’s mission to the unwavering pursuit of justice on behalf of victims and their families despite the passage of time.
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.
Peterson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Contact
usasd.press@usdoj.gov
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota
