Rudolph Lee Shane, Sr. Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on April 10, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, RUDOLPH LEE SHANE, SR., a 64-year-old resident of Crow Agency, was sentenced to a term of:

Probation: 5 years, with 6 months house arrest

Special Assessment: $100

Fine: $5,000

SHANE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to tampering with a victim.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcia Hurd and Lori Harper Suek, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On February 23, 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received a report alleging that SHANE had harassed a victim in a pending criminal case in federal court.

On February 21, 2012, SHANE had contacted the victim who described the meeting as intimidating and stated she was concerned for her safety. She believed he wanted her to "drop charges" or change her story. The victim did not initially know who he was and had no idea how SHANE knew how to find her.

On February 22, SHANE called the victim's cell phone twice and left a message. In addition, SHANE's daughter contacted the victim at the request of SHANE. SHANE had also called the victim's mother earlier in the case and asked her to talk to the victim about dropping the charges.

When interviewed, SHANE admitted the contact and indicated he did so because he believed that the victim would take pity on the defendant in the case and "do the right thing." When asked what he was thinking by contacting the victim, SHANE reported that he thought if the victim withdrew her complaint or changed her mind, it would help the defendant.

The investigation was conducted by a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Indian Affairs.