Fort Yates Man Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 13, 2011 |
BISMARCK, ND—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on January 13, 2011, Gabriel L. Martin, 29, of Fort Yates, North Dakota, pled guilty before United States District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to a charge of child abuse in Indian country.
In February 2010, Martin struck a child with a boot multiple times in the buttocks, lower back, and thigh area, causing significant bruising to those areas of the child’s body.
The matter came to attention of authorities when the child came to school with noticeable bruises, and school officials contacted medical personnel and law enforcement. The charge of child abuse in Indian country carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs - Standing Rock Agency, and Dakota Children’s Advocacy Center. Sentencing for Martin has been scheduled for April 7, 2011, in United States District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, at 1:30 p.m.
Assistant United States Attorney Rick Volk is prosecuting the case.