MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that David Leroy Earls, age 36, of Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 140 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release for three counts of Sexual Abuse in Indian Country. Each count is ordered to run concurrently. The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The defendant was previously convicted by a federal jury. At the trial, the evidence proved Earls was in a relationship with the victim’s mother. The victim was intellectually disabled and required full time care. Earls took advantage of the victim’s disability and sexually abused her when she could not legally consent to sexual activity.
In addition to the 140 months of incarceration within the Bureau of Prisons, Earls must register as a sex offender upon his release from prison, he cannot live with or be alone with a minor without prior approval, he must submit to a sex offender or mental health treatment program as recommended, including polygraphs to make sure he is in compliance, and he must submit to a search of his person, home, or computer.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the defendant in this case is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crimes occurred in Pushmataha County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“The defendant exploited and sexually assaulted the victim whom he knew to be mentally and emotionally challenged," said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Earls’ callous acts warrant the punishment imposed by the Court."
“David Earls’ crimes were predatory and there is no question the sentencing is just," said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “The FBI will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to investigate the most egregious crimes in Indian Country and provide justice for the victims."
The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. Earls will report to a United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Sarah McAmis represented the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
