FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on June 29, 2012, Roman Cavanaugh, Jr. of Fort Totten, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to a charge of domestic assault by a habitual offender.

Cavanaugh, Jr., 36, pleaded guilty to assaulting the mother of his children on July 7, 2008. Cavanaugh, Jr. previously was convicted of committing domestic violence against the same woman on at least three separate occasions in Spirit Lake Tribal Court in Fort Totten, N.D. These convictions were entered on Jan. 14, 2008, April 6, 2005, and Mar. 21, 2005 respectively. The incidents occurred on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.

The charge of domestic assault by a habitual offender carries a statutory maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sentencing for Cavanaugh, Jr. has been scheduled for Sept. 17, 2012 , in U.S. District Court in Fargo, N.D., at 11:00 a.m.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Janice M. Morley is prosecuting the case.

 

 

 

 

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