Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Pottawatomi Member Sentenced for Sexually Assaulting Minor on Pine Creek Reservation

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Alan Andrew Mackety, 40, of Three Rivers, Michigan, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual assault of a thirteen-year old minor, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. Mackety had pled guilty to three counts of sexual abuse in May of this year. Because of both the severity of the acts involved and Mackety’s admission that he had sexually abused the victim for four years, the Hon. Robert J. Jonker, U.S. District Judge in Grand Rapids, selected a sentence that was above the maximum recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. Judge Jonker stated that the sentence was intended, in part, to send an unequivocal message to Mackety and the community that sexually abusing children will not be tolerated; that anyone who sexually abuses children will face significant penalties.

Mackety is a member of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Pottawatomi and lived on the Pine Creek Reservation, which is located in Calhoun County. The sexual assaults occurred at Mackety’s home on the reservation. The federal government could only charge three counts rather than counts spanning the full four-year period of abuse because the tribal land was only brought into trust in 2008.

U.S. Attorney Davis praised the coordinated investigative efforts of the FBI in this matter, the Calhoun County Child Advocacy Center, and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Pottawatomi. U.S. Attorney Davis stated that “ensuring that violent crime is quickly and effectively addressed in the Western District and throughout the Nation continues to be a priority within the Department of Justice. Hopefully, this sentence will help inform those citizens living in Indian Country that these crimes will be dealt with swiftly and to the fullest extent of the law.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff J. Davis and Timothy P. VerHey.