Tokio Man Pleads Guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact

FARGO – U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on July 15, 2013, Jerome Louis Blackbird, Jr., of Tokio, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to a charge of abusive sexual contact.

Blackbird, Jr., 56, pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual contact, over the clothing, with a minor female child. The incidents occurred between 2007 through 2009 on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.

The charge of abusive sexual contact carries a statutory maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sentencing for Blackbird, Jr. has been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Fargo.

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