David Poor Bear Gets 55 Years for Rape, Kidnapping in Rapid City Area Case

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Rapid City, S.D.- Seventh Circuit Judge Joshua Hendrickson today sentenced David Poor Bear, 33, to a total of 55 years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary following his conviction for multiple violent offenses stemming from an incident in Box Elder in January 2023.

The sentencing wraps up a high-profile case in the Rapid City area that involved the kidnapping and prolonged assault of an adult woman and her daughter.

Poor Bear’s 55-year sentence results from the court ordering certain counts to run consecutively. The breakdown of the sentence included 40 years for Second-Degree Rape (with a second count running concurrently), 15 years for Kidnapping (concurrent), 10 years for Child Abuse (consecutive), and 5 years for Criminal Solicitation (consecutive). He was also sentenced to a concurrent 10-year term in a separate Fourth-Degree Rape case.

A Pennington County jury convicted Poor Bear in June. Evidence presented at trial established that he held an adult woman and her daughter captive for more than 36 hours in Box Elder. Jurors heard that the adult victim was zip-tied, raped, beaten with a sock filled with nails and a chain, and repeatedly threatened with death. The child, present throughout the assaults and also threatened, testified during the trial.

Senior Deputy State’s Attorney Rachel Lindsay urged the court to impose a substantial sentence, noting the severity of the crimes and the defendant’s pattern of violence.

The State is aware of at least three other women who have been physically or sexually abused by Poor Bear. The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy State’s Attorneys Rachel Lindsay and Jason Thomas.