Mount Pleasant Man Convicted for Sexual Assault, Unlawful Imprisonment, Witness Tampering on Indian Reservation

A Mount Pleasant man was convicted today of domestic assault, witness tampering, and related charges by a federal jury in Bay City, Michigan, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.

At the trial before US. District Judge Judge L. Thomas Ludington, Waylon James Pego, 28, was convicted of three counts of unlawful imprisonment, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, three counts of domestic assault by a habitual offender, two counts of assault causing serious bodily injury, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with the intent to bodily injury, three counts of interfering with electronic communications, and one count of witness tampering.

The charges stemmed from incidents involving three separate victims between 2007 and 2012, in which Pego strangled the victims, held them against their will, threatened two of them with weapons, broke their telephones when they attempted to call for help, threatened to kill them, sexually assaulted one of them, and attempted to influence one victim’s testimony before the grand jury. The crimes occurred on the Isabella Reservation in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Pego could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

The case was investigated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roy Kranz and Anca Pop.