Reno Sparks Indian Colony Member Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor and Production of Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 18, 2009 |
RENO, NV—Ralph James Walking Bull, Jr., a resident of the Hungry Valley Community on the Reno Sparks Indian Colony in Sparks, Nevada, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks to Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Production of Child Pornography, announced Greg Brower, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
On February 26, 2009, Walking Bull, 37, coerced a 10-year-old female victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct so he could take photographs of her. After taking the photographs, Walking Bull forcibly began to sexually assault the victim. Walking Bull stopped the assault after the victim started to scream and cry and told him to stop. Walking Bull was arrested on March 3, 2009, and charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse. He has been in custody since that date.
Walking Bull is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hicks on August 31, 2009, at 1:30 p.m. The mandatory minimum period of imprisonment is 30 years.
The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, FBI, and Reno/Sparks Tribal Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sue Fahami and Megan Rachow.