Watertown Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing a Minor Child

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Watertown, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact. The sentencing took place on November 4, 2024, in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Deserick Jake Bird, age 37, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $200 as a statutorily required special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Bird will also be serving an 80-year sentence for a sexual assault conviction from the State of South Dakota.

Bird was originally indicted for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child by a federal grand jury in February of 2022. He pleaded guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact on August 19, 2024.

Over a three-year period, Bird sexually assaulted a young girl between eight and 11 years old. A second victim also came forward to report that Bird had sexually assaulted her when she was 14 years old.

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.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Sisseton Wahpeton Tribal Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.