A Timber Lake man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for abusive sexual contact without consent. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell and took place on August 25, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Jaren Loren Lane Mellette, 27, will serve three years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He is also required to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Mellette was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2024 and pleaded guilty on June 3, 2025. According to court documents, during the summer of 2023, Mellette groped a 13-year-old girl without her consent in Corson County, South Dakota, within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Major Crimes Act, which allows certain crimes occurring in Indian country to be prosecuted federally rather than at the state level.
“This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, authorizes certain crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country to be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court,” according to the press release.
The prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordination among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The FBI investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem handled its prosecution.
Mellette was immediately remanded into custody following his sentencing.
