Oglala Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Kidnapping and Interstate Domestic Violence

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced an Oglala, South Dakota, man convicted of Aiding and Abetting Kidnapping, and Aiding and Abetting Interstate Domestic Violence. The sentencing took place on February 10, 2023.

Dustin Sierra, a/k/a Dustin Sierro, 38, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison for Aiding and Abetting Kidnapping, and 10 years in federal prison to for Aiding and Abetting Interstate Domestic Violence. Both sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Sierra was ordered to serve five years of supervised release for the Aiding and Abetting Kidnapping charge and three years on the Aiding and Abetting Interstate Domestic Violence charge, to run concurrently. He was also ordered to pay $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Sierra was indicted for the charges by a federal grand jury in August of 2019. He was found guilty following a federal jury trial in Rapid City in October of 2022. Also indicted with Dustin Sierra was his brother, Jesse Sierra, who was also convicted of various offenses arising out of the same event.

The convictions related to Dustin Sierra and his brother, Jesse Sierra, traveling to the female victim’s place of employment in July of 2019 and convincing her to leave with them. When Dustin Sierra began driving the female to the Pine Ridge Reservation, Jesse Sierra wrapped his arm around her neck and strangled her until she became unconscious. Each time the female regained consciousness, Jesse Sierra strangled her again. Between July 13, 2019, and July 17, 2019, Jesse Sierra took the female to a number of locations on the Pine Ridge Reservation against her will. Jesse inflicted multiple physical and sexual assaults upon the female during the time he held her against her will. Around July 17, 2019, Dustin Sierra drove Jesse Sierra and the female to Chadron, Nebraska. Jesse Sierra then hid her in a motel in Crawford, Nebraska. On July 21, 2019, Jesse dropped her off at the emergency room in Chadron. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies searched for the victim from July 14, 2019, until she was located at the Chadron hospital on July 21, 2019.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Rapid City Police Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Box Elder Police Department, Dawes County Sheriff’s Office, Chadron Police Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Sazama and Kelsey Blair prosecuted the case.

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