Arthur Dion Longee Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 23, 2012 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on October 22, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Arthur Dion Longee, a 25-year-old resident of Poplar, pled guilty to sexual abuse of a minor. Sentencing has been set for January 22, 2013. He is currently detained.
In an offer of poof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
During the evening of July 15, 2011, the victim went to the powwow in Poplar. While at the powwow, the victim sent a text message to Longee to see if there was a party occurring. The victim left the powwow to meet up with Longee and a few friends. At the party, the victim drank liquor and became pretty drunk. At one point, a fight broke out and the victim left the house with Longee as the morning sky started to get lighter. They walked to Longee’s grandmother’s house.
The next thing the victim remembered was waking up to Longee having sex with her. She told him to stop several times, and, finally, he did. Longee then received a phone call from the police, and he told the victim someone had turned him into the cops. He told the victim to shower and wash up good and threw a towel at her.
Prior to the sexual assault, the victim’s mother called the police to report her daughter was missing. An officer learned the victim had been last seen potentially with Longee. Officers went to Longee’s house, and at one point, the victim peaked out the window and saw the police outside. But, Longee would not let her leave. The victim was later able to leave the house and told her mother she had been sexually assaulted.
A sexual assault examination was completed at the hospital and law enforcement collected physical evidence. The FBI Laboratory analyzed the swabs taken from Longee, and it was determined that the victim was the major female contributor of DNA to this sample.
Longee faces possible penalties of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and lifetime supervision.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division.