McLaughlin Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

ABERDEEN - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The sentencing took place on July 20, 2026.

Ricky Wayne Hettich, Jr., age 26, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Hettich was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2025. He pleaded guilty on April 16, 2026.

Around Christmas 2024, Hettich picked up a 15-year-old girl by the waist against her will. He laid her down on his bed in his father's basement in McLaughlin, South Dakota, within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Hettich took off the minor's clothes, then his own, and had sexual intercourse with her. Whenever the girl tried to escape, Hettich forced her back down. The intercourse resulted in pregnancy. Investigators learned Hettich also had sexual intercourse with the girl on a prior occasion.

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 Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

Hettich was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to serve his federal sentence.