West River Eagle

Sampson receives 30 months for mailing threatening letters and failure to register as a sex offender




A 41 year old Eagle Butte man was sentenced to 30 months in custody for mailing threatening letters and failure to register as a sex offender.


Gaylen Paul Sampson, also known as Thurman Paul Sampson was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on October 24, 2016. Sampson received 30 months for each conviction, and will serve the time concurrently.


Following his release from custody, Sampson will be on supervised release for five years on the Failure to Register conviction. 


A federal grand jury indicted Sampson in March of 2016 on the two charges of Mailing Threatening Communications and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.   He pled guilty to the charges in both indictments on August 8, 2016.


In 2003, Sampson was convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor and sentenced to 12 and half years in prison. During his sentence, Sampson, Sampson began writing letters to the adult daughter of a former employer.  Over time, the letters became more concerning to the victim and more sexually explicit.  While out on supervised release after serving his custody sentence, Sampson wrote a letter to the victim in October of 2015.  The content of the letter prompted the Court to order Sampson not to enter onto the premises, travel past, or loiter near where the victim resides, and to have no correspondence, telephone contact, or communication with her through a third party.  Three days later, Sampson addressed a letter to the victim’s brother, in which he indicated he planned to kill the victim.


As a result of Sampson’s 2003 conviction for Aggravated Sexual Abuse, he is required by law to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He is required to update his registration within three business days of relocation or change in employment.  On March 25, 2013, Sampson transitioned from Leavenworth, Kansas, to Community Alternatives of the Black Hills (CABH), Rapid City, South Dakota, to serve the remainder of his prison sentence.  Sampson escaped from the facility and from supervision on April 10, 2013.  Sampson surrendered to law enforcement on April 23, 2013.  During the 13 days he was gone from state supervision, Sampson did not register his address.


The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshals Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller.


Sampson was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.



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