A Manderson, South Dakota man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after being convicted of receipt of child pornography and assault. The sentencing for John Steele, Jr., 51, was handed down by U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler on January 26, 2026.
Steele will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term. He has been ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and $125 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Forfeiture was also ordered as part of the sentence.
The charges stem from incidents that occurred between 2012 and 2016 when Steele hid a Samsung cellular phone in the bathroom of his home and surreptitiously photographed a minor female as she exited the shower at around age 13. In 2023, Steele assaulted an adult female by striking her with his hand at Manderson. During the investigation into this assault, authorities discovered sexually explicit photos of the minor on Steele’s phone.
A federal grand jury indicted Steele in July 2024, and he pleaded guilty on October 30, 2025.
United States Attorney Ron Parsons commented on the case: “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.”
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox following an investigation conducted by the FBI.
According to officials, this matter fell under federal jurisdiction because the Major Crimes Act requires certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted federally rather than at the state level.
Steele was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
