Horrific crimes on Montana Indian reservation draw prison sentences
Two defendants were given lengthy federal prison sentences Wednesday in separate, back-to-back horrific crimes of violence against children last year that rattled residents of a Montana American Indian reservation and prompted tribal leaders to blame rampant drug use.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced a woman from the Fort Peck Reservation to 20 years in prison for the murder of a 13-month-old who had been under her care. Less than two hours earlier, Morris handed down a 42-year prison term to a man who kidnapped and raped a 4-year-old girl on the reservation.
Tribal leaders said the crimes, which occurred within weeks of one another, were rooted in the rising scourge of methamphetamine use on the sparsely populated reservation in northeastern Montana near the U.S. border with Canada.
While the sentencings closed out two cases that put a spotlight on the problem, tribal officials have said drug use continues and that they lack the resources to deal with it.
Fort Peck is home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and has a population of about 10,000 people.
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/horrific-crimes-on-montana-indian-reservation-draw-prison-sentences/article_79249588-68da-5f03-98a9-b2a9c5ff7fba.html
