Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact was sentenced by Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Benton Rowland, age 36, was sentenced on March 26, 2021, to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Rowland was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2016. The charge related to Rowland engaging in sexual contact with a child under the age of 12, between 2008 and 2014 at Pine Ridge and Manderson, South Dakota.

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.

Rowland was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.