Floyd Hiwalker Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 21, 2011 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on October 21, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, FLOYD HIWALKER, a 54-year-old resident of Lame Deer, appeared for sentencing. HIWALKER was sentenced to a term of:
- Probation: five years
- Special Assessment: $25
- Repayment: $820.44 for electronic monitoring and for attorney fees (to be determined)
HIWALKER was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to assault on a child under the age of 16.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In September 2009, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Office in Billings received a report of a possible abuse allegation regarding a child from the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The allegation was that a child, whose name is not listed to protect her privacy, was abused by HIWALKER, her mother’s boyfriend. The allegation included information that when the child disclosed the abuse to her mother, the mother took the child and a younger sibling to Utah and gave custody of them to relatives, rather than end her relationship with HIWALKER. Since the original indictment was returned, the couple have married.
The child reported being touched over her clothing by HIWALKER during the time period in question. When interviewed, HIWALKER admitted that on one occasion he had touched the child on her buttocks when he was putting her to bed.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.