Larry Dale Spang Sentenced in U.S. District Court

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on April 1, 2009, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, LARRY DALE SPANG, a 41-year-old resident of Lame Deer, appeared for sentencing. SPANG was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 18 months
  
  
• Special Assessment: $100
  
  
• Supervised Release: 10 years

SPANG was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to abusive sexual contact.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

In the early morning hours of August 6, 2007, the BIA received a call to investigate a possibly intoxicated person knocking on people's doors. An officer was dispatched and upon arriving at the location, a woman ran up to him. She was crying heavily and stated that she had been raped by SPANG. Her clothes were inside out, she was not wearing shoes or socks, and she had dirt and weeds in her hair and on her clothing.
The victim told the officer that she had been walking when a tractor trailer stopped to offer her a ride. At the same time, SPANG pulled up in his pickup and offered her a ride, which she accepted. She asked SPANG to take her home. She also accepted and drank beer provided by SPANG. They drove to a house in Lame Deer where they stayed for about 20-30 minutes and drank beer. They then went to the PowWow grounds and drank more beer. Then they went to a trailer house and to another house. SPANG then drove about another one-half mile to a location over a hill. SPANG stopped the truck in a wooded area and forced the victim to engage in sexual contact. The victim then ran to a nearby house where SPANG'S relatives lived and asked them to call the police. She told them that she had just been raped by SPANG.

SPANG was interviewed twice by law enforcement. During the second interview, he admitted to forcing SPANG to engage in sexual contact.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that SPANG will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, SPANG does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.