Lac Vieux Desert Member Sentenced in Child Sexual Assault
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 12, 2012 |
MARQUETTE, MI—Aaron Timothy VanZile, 30, of Watersmeet, Michigan, and a member of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered VanZile to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison and to pay a $100 special assessment. Upon release from prison, VanZile will be required to register as a sexual offender.
On May 10, 2012, VanZile pleaded guilty to count one of a federal indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12. The charge stemmed from an incident at a residence in Watersmeet, Michigan, on the Lac Vieux Desert reservation on May 5, 2011. During this incident, VanZile, after ingesting alcohol and controlled substances, left the party he was attending and entered the home of another person without permission. Once inside the home, VanZile saw the 9-year-old victim on a couch and sexually assaulted her.
The Lac Vieux Desert Tribal Police, Michigan State Police, and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul D. Lochner and Maarten Vermaat prosecuted the case.