Source: Office of United States Attorneys
RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Kyle, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Abuse. The sentencing took place on May 1, 2025.
Louis James Swallow, 22, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Swallow will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Swallow was indicted for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor and Abusive Sexual Contact by a federal grand jury in February 2024. He pleaded guilty on February 10, 2025.
The case was charged after an acute disclosure of forcible sexual assault by the 13-year-old victim. She disclosed Swallow followed her while she was walking home, grabbed her, forced her to the ground, and then raped her. In sentencing Swallow to 20 years in prison, Judge Schreier condemned Swallow’s “frightening conduct,” noting he had also been charged in Pennington County for raping and strangling a girlfriend in 2020. Judge Schreier further recognized the trauma Swallow’s violence inflicted on the 13-year-old victim.
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 FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
Swallow was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.