Ute Mountain Ute Man Found Guilty Of Rape

DURANGO – Wambli Mills, age 23, of Towaoc, Colorado, was found guilty today of federal sexual assault charges following a four-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn, announced U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn.  Mills appeared at trial in custody and was remanded at the trial’s conclusion.

Mills was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 11, 2018, for one count of Sexual Abuse of an Incapable Victim and one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse within the exterior boundaries of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation, in Towaoc, Colorado.  According to court documents, as well as facts presented during trial, Mills used physical force to sexually assault an intoxicated friend at a relative’s house.  The victim escaped and made an immediate report to the police.  Law enforcement located Mills hiding in a nearby field with the victim’s leggings wrapped around his neck and the victim’s underwear on his person.  DNA testing conducted by the FBI showed the victim’s DNA on the interior of Mills’ underwear.

Mills will be sentenced by Judge Blackburn on October 7, 2019, in Durango, Colorado.  Mills faces up to life in prison.  He has also been indicted in a separate case for Attempted Murder of a Federal Officer related to an incident from April 8, 2018.  That case is pending.

“Sexual violence on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn.  “Our office is committed to prosecuting anyone who commits sexual assault within Indian Country.  Wambli Mills thought he could get away with a brutal assault.  He was wrong.”  

This case was investigated by Bureau of Indian Affairs with support from the FBI.  The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Graves, R. Josh Player, and Peter McNeilly.