Lake Andes Man Resentenced for Sexual Assault and Burglary

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that James Bruguier, a/k/a James Bruguier, Jr., age 28, of Lake Andes, South Dakota, was sentenced on March 31, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

In August 2011, Bruguier was found guilty by a jury of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, and first-degree burglary for separate sexual assaults on two teenagers from the Yankton reservation. The testimony at trial revealed that one of the sexual attacks perpetrated by Bruguier occurred in the home of the victim when Bruguier crawled through a window uninvited, assaulted the teenager, and then raped her.

Bruguier was originally Indicted in February 2011 by a federal grand jury and then re-indicted as more victims were discovered. After his convictions by the jury in 2011, Bruguier was sentenced to 360 months in custody. He appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals who ordered a resentencing. On March 31, 2014, Bruguier was resentenced to concurrent sentences of 354 months, 300 months, and 180 months for the three convictions.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Yankton Sioux Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Wright prosecuted the case.

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