Spirit Lake Man Found Guilty of Attempted Aggravated Sexual Abuse
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 04, 2011 |
GRAND FORKS—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on November 3, 2011, Joseph Brown, Jr. of St. Michael, North Dakota, was found guilty by a 12-person jury of attempted aggravated sexual abuse. United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Erickson presided over the three day trial.
Brown, 59, was found guilty of attempting to rape a young woman while using force. The incident occurred on August 18, 2009, at Brown’s rural farm on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.
The charge of attempted aggravated sexual abuse carries a statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Sentencing for Brown has been scheduled for January 13, 2012, in United States District Court in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Assistant United States Attorney Janice M. Morley is prosecuting the case.