New Town Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 14, 2011 |
BISMARCK—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on July 13, 2011, Medicine Bird Morsette, 22, of New Town, North Dakota, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual abuse of a minor and commission of a federal sex offense by a registered sex offender in United States District Court.
Morsette engaged in a sexual act with a 12-year-old juvenile sometime between August 2009 and March 2010 in the New Town area. At the time of this offense, Morsette was registered as a sexual offender with the state of North Dakota as a result of a prior federal juvenile adjudication for a sexual offense which involved another 12-year-old juvenile.
The charge of sexual abuse of a minor carries a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of commission of a federal sex offense by a registered sex offender carries a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs - Fort Berthold Agency and Three Affiliated Tribes Police Department.
Sentencing for Morsette has been scheduled for September 19, 2011, in United States District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, at 11:00 a.m. Assistant United States Attorney Rick Volk is prosecuting the case.