FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on July 15, 2013, Jerome Louis Blackbird, Jr., of Tokio, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to a charge of abusive sexual contact.
Blackbird, Jr., 56, pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual contact, over the clothing, with a minor female child. The incidents occurred between 2007 through 2009 on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.
The charge of abusive sexual contact carries a statutory maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sentencing for Blackbird, Jr. has been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Fargo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Janice M. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
