Man Convicted of Assaulting Infant Stepdaughter

McLaughlin Man Convicted of Assaulting Infant Stepdaughter

A federal jury in Pierre convicted Brett Roach, 27, of McLaughlin, South Dakota, of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury on October 8, 2014, following a two-day trial.

The charge carries a 10-year mandatory minimum, up to life in custody, and/or a $250,000 fine, as well as 5 years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Roach was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2013.

The conviction stems from an assault that occurred on May 22, 2013, when Roach’s 11-month-old stepdaughter was brought to the Mobridge Regional Hospital, where a CT scan revealed the child was bleeding inside her skull and had sustained three skull fractures.

The 11-month-old victim was flown to Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, where she underwent emergency treatment for her head injuries. During the investigation, Roach admitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he threw the child from a bed onto the hard floor because the child’s crying had woken him up. At trial, Roach claimed he had made up the story and the child had been injured in a simple fall. Medical experts at trial told the jury that a simple fall would not explain the victim’s life-threatening serious head injuries.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case. A sentencing date has not been set, and the defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.

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