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Loudonville Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Machete Attack on Estranged Family

Thomas Sorensen, 46, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision for breaking into his estranged wife's home and threatening the family with a machete.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 20, 2026, 11:36 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 26, 2026, 4:27 p.m. ETWritten Aug 22, 2026, 2:52 p.m. ET
Thomas Sorensen, 46, of Loudonville, was to , according to CBS6 Albany. The sentencing was announced on August 20, 2026. The sentencing follows his conviction on charges including burglary, contempt, mischief, endangering the welfare of a child, and possession of a weapon. Prosecutors said Sorensen violated a stay-away order by breaking into the Loudonville home of his estranged wife while the family was sleeping. He took the phone from her hand when she tried to call police and grabbed a machete from the garage as the family fled to a neighbor, according to CBS6 Albany. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota, according to the office's announcement. The sentencing took place on August 17, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 22, 2026, 2:22 p.m. ET

    Loudonville Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Machete Attack on Estranged Family

    Thomas Sorensen, 46, of Loudonville, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision, according to CBS6 Albany. The sentence was imposed on August 20, 2026, following his conviction on charges including burglary, criminal contempt, criminal mischief, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a weapon.

    Prosecutors said Sorensen violated a stay-away order by breaking into the Loudonville home of his estranged wife while the family was sleeping. He took the phone from her hand when she tried to call police and grabbed a machete from the garage as the family fled to a neighbor, according to CBS6 Albany.

    The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota, according to an official record. The sentencing took place in federal court.

  2. Aug 20, 2026, 11:36 a.m. ETFirst report

    Agency Village Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assault

    According to an official release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota announced on August 20, 2026, U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann sentenced 45-year-old Donald Philip Red Owl of Agency Village, South Dakota, on August 17, 2026. Red Owl was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison, 1 year of supervised release, and a $25 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

    The conviction derived from an incident on October 28, 2024, in which Red Owl struck his 15-year-old daughter in the face when she refused to give her cell phone to him. Red Owl was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2025 and pleaded guilty on June 1, 2026, to Assault by Striking, Beating, and Wounding.

    United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced the sentence. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case. The matter was prosecuted in federal court pursuant to the Major Crimes Act, which mandates federal prosecution for certain violent crimes alleged in Indian Country. Red Owl was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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Revision history

  1. Version 122 Aug 2026, 18:52current

    First published.

  2. Version 120 Aug 2026, 15:36current

    First published.

  3. Version 122 Aug 2026, 18:22current

    First published.

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