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Press Release

McCurtain County Resident Pleads Guilty To Child Abuse In Indian Country

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Oklahoma

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that on Monday, December 5, 2022, Jory L. Bullard, of McCurtain County, Oklahoma entered a guilty plea to a Superseding Indictment charging him with one count of Child Abuse in Indian Country.

The defendant pled guilty to willfully and maliciously injuring an eleven-month-old child. On June 18, 2019, McCurtain County EMS responded to a 911 call that a baby had been injured. The child was in the sole care of Jory L. Bullard at the time of his injuries. Upon arriving on the scene, EMS found the baby unresponsive and bruised. The baby was life flighted to Ochsner LSU Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana where he underwent emergency surgery for bleeding in his brain and eye. During the subsequent investigation, Bullard provided explanations for the child’s injuries which were inconsistent with the nature and severity of the injuries.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the victim is eligible for membership in a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crimes occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation and the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The guilty plea was the result of an investigation by the Broken Bow Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, presided over the defendant’s plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled in front of the Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Court Judge, following completion of the report. Bullard was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending the imposition of sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Morgan Muzljakovich and Sarah McAmis represented the United States.

Updated December 8, 2022

Topics
Project Safe Childhood
Indian Country Law and Justice