PORTLAND, Ore. - Thomas James Adams, 23, of La Grande, Oregon, was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for sexually abusing a minor victim on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
According to court documents, in September 2015, Adams, then 20 years old, visited the 9-year-old minor victim at his family’s home during the Pendleton Round-Up, a local rodeo event. When others in the house were asleep, Adams convinced the minor victim to participate in a series of “dares" or “challenges" that escalated from running around the house naked and peeing outside in the dark to looking at adult pornographic photos on Adam’s cellphone, mutual masturbation and touching each other’s genitals. The young victim reported the sexual contact to his parents, who contacted tribal law enforcement authorities.
The court also ordered Adams to have no contact with the victim or his immediate family, and ordered that he not enter or visit the Umatilla Indian Reservation without approval in advance from his probation officer.
Adams pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2244(a)(5) and 1152 on Jan. 31, 2018.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Umatilla Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Jennifer Martin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
