Westville Man Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 07, 2013 |
MUSKOGEE, OK—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that Kendra Marie Ross, age 23, of Westville, Oklahoma, pled guilty to felony child abuse, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1153, Title 21, Oklahoma Statutes Annotated, Section 843.5(A); and Title 10, Oklahoma Statutes Annotated, Section 1-1-105.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare, the Cherokee Nation Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendant was indicted in November 2012.
The indictment alleged that on or about August 2, 2012, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and within Indian Country, on restricted land, the defendant, an Indian, did willfully and maliciously injure a child who was at the time 5 years old, by repeatedly striking him.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion.
The statutory range of punishment is up to life imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.