A Poplar man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for aggravated sexual abuse on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Chucho Cruzito Garfield, 40, received a sentence of 68 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty in June 2025 to one count of aggravated sexual abuse. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the case.
According to court documents, law enforcement responded to a report of intoxicated juveniles fighting at a residence in Poplar, Montana, on June 14, 2022. When officers arrived, Jane Doe’s brother told them that Garfield had held a knife to Doe’s throat and prevented her from leaving a backroom of the house.
An officer recognized Doe from previous interactions and knew that the Fort Peck Tribal Court had issued an order for her detention. After confirming with dispatch that the order was still active, the officer entered the home and arrested Doe. Garfield was also taken into custody after Doe reported he had given her a black eye the day before—a bruise was visible beneath her eye—and had prevented her from leaving by holding a knife to her throat.
Doe later told investigators that Garfield walked her from her home to his house on June 14. Outside his house, Doe’s brother confronted Garfield about Doe’s black eye. Garfield then grabbed Doe by the arm and pulled her inside. She reported that she asked to go home but Garfield said she would have to have sex with him and allow him to hit her before being allowed to leave. According to Doe’s account, Garfield forced her to perform oral sex while threatening her with a pocketknife.
Initially, Garfield denied both striking and sexually abusing Doe but eventually admitted that he had forced her to perform oral sex.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.
