Watertown Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - A Watertown, South Dakota, man, Gokoh Frank Brown, age 29, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison following his conviction for Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Sexual Abuse of a Minor. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann handed down the sentencing on November 3, 2025.

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced the sentencing, which also includes 20 years of supervised release after the prison term, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Brown is required to register as a sex offender upon his release from federal custody. Brown was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

A federal grand jury indicted Brown in August 2024. He was found guilty following a jury trial on May 21, 2025. The conviction stems from repeated sexual assaults of a 12-year-old household member, which occurred between January and August 2023 while Brown resided on the Lake Traverse Reservation.

The FBI, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Law Enforcement, and the DCI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted the matter.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case under the federal Major Crimes Act, which mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in federal court.

This matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program focuses on marshaling federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.