Arapahoe man sentenced to nine years in federal prison for aggravated child abuse, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with a dangerous weapon

Truman Sitting Eagle, 36, of Arapahoe, Wyoming, was sentenced to 108 months' imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to reimburse Medicaid of Wyoming over $33,000 in medical expenses for the victim's care. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Aug. 6 in Cheyenne.

According to statements provided at the hearing, Truman and his wife, Kandace Sitting Eagle, abused their child for months beginning in at least October and lasting until December 12, 2023 when an Arapahoe school resource officer conducted a welfare check on a 13-year-old student that had not been to school in over a month. He eventually found the child in a crawl space under the trailer where the parents, Kandace and Truman Sitting Eagle, were hiding the child. Truman had repeatedly lied to the resource officer and Wind River Police Department regarding the whereabouts and welfare of the child. The investigation proved that the child had suffered weeks of physical beatings with a metal rod and other instruments, isolation, starvation, and psychological abuse at the hands of Kandace and Truman. Judge Johnson increased the sentence from the advisory guideline range of 70 to 87 months to 108 months based on Truman's extensive criminal history, the severity of the abuse, and the impact of the abuse on the victim and the rest of the five children in the home.

Kandace Sitting Eagle was convicted by a federal jury on June 13 after a four-day trial. Her sentencing is set for August 29, and she faces no less than 10 years and up to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors in that case.

This crime was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook.

Case No. 24-CR-03