Nebraska Man Indicted for Assault and Commission of a Crime of Violence While Failing to Register as Sex Offender

Dwaine Walter Little Elk, age 35, was indicted on August 11, 2020.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on November 5, 2020, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum of five up to thirty years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Restitution may also be ordered.

The Indictment alleges that on June 20, 2020, in Todd County, South Dakota, Little Elk assaulted an individual with a bat with the intent to do bodily harm.  The Indictment further alleges, the following day, on June 21, 2020, Little Elk assaulted another individual with a sharp-edged instrument with the intent to do bodily harm, and that the assault resulted in serious bodily injury. 

Little Elk was convicted of Attempted 1st Degree Assault of a Child in April 2008. As a result of this conviction, Little Elk is classified as a Tier III Sex Offender and is required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his natural life.  As a result, the Indictment alleges that between June 17, 2020, and August 11, 2020, Little Elk failed to properly register as a sex offender and update his registration, and that he committed the assaults while failing to register as a sex offender.

The charges are merely accusations and Little Elk is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The investigation is being conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the U.S. Marshals Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Elmore is prosecuting the case.   

Little Elk was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial.  A trial date has not been set.