Parmelee Man Sentenced to Nearly 18 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Abuse

PIERRE - United States Attorney Ron Parsons, announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Parmelee, South Dakota man convicted of Sexual Abuse. The sentencing took place on Feb. 24, 2026.

Curtis New Holy, age 34, was sentenced to 17 years and eight months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

New Holy was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2025. He pleaded guilty on December 4, 2025.

The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on August 4, 2024 in the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. In the early morning hours of that day, New Holy agreed to give the victim, a 12-year-old girl, a ride home from a residence near Parmelee. The victim had been consuming alcoholic beverages and was intoxicated. New Holy subsequently engaged in sexual activity with the victim in his vehicle even though she was intoxicated and semi-conscious.

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 brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

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