Federal Jury Finds Man Guilty of Assaulting a Woman on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in Duluth, a federal jury convicted a 53-year-old man for the domestic assault of a woman on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Chris Neil Ferguson was specifically found guilty of one count of domestic assault by a habitual offender. This is the first time the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota has prosecuted anyone under the federal “domestic assault by a habitual offender” law. Ferguson was indicted for this crime on September 20, 2011.

According to the indictment and the evidence presented at trial, on December 19, 2009, Ferguson, a non-Indian who was residing in a halfway house, committed a domestic assault against the Indian victim while the couple was visiting others on the reservation. The victim sustained injuries to her face. Ferguson has five prior assault convictions, including convictions in St. Louis County for felony domestic assault (2008) and gross misdemeanor domestic assault (2002).

For his crime, Ferguson faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis will determine his sentence at a future hearing. This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Bois Forte Indian Reservation is a federal jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the BIA. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The U.S. Justice Department is taking steps to increase engagement, coordination and action relative to public safety in tribal communities, including the creation of the Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force. This task force will explore current issues raised by professionals in the field and recommend “best practices” in prosecution strategies involving domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Violence against American Indian women occurs at epidemic rates. In 2005, Congress found that one in three American Indian women is raped during her lifetime, and American Indian women are nearly three times more likely to be battered in during their lives than Caucasian women.