Stilwell Resident Sentenced To 35 Years For Multiple Counts Of Aggravated Sexual Abuse

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Daniel Wayne Bayless, age 27, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 420 months for each of four counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian Country.  The terms of imprisonment will be served concurrently.  Bayless will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The charges arose from investigations by the Adair County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On July 18, 2023, Bayless was found guilty of the charges by a federal jury.  During the trial, the United States presented evidence that in 2020 Bayless sexually assaulted a minor victim under the age of 12 on multiple occasions.  The Government also presented evidence Bayless victimized another child ten years prior.  The crimes occurred in Adair County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Bayless will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Paladino and Morgan Muzljakovich represented the United States.