Post by Okwes on Jul 7, 2007 11:46:57 GMT -5
Charges dropped against 2 men in sexual assaults on reservation
PHOENIX -- Authorities have dropped charges against two men arrested for investigation in a series of sexual assaults on an eastern Arizona Indian reservation in which the attacker posed as a police officer.
Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs arrested Jesse Dupris and Jeremy Reed in October on tribal charges including abduction, sexual conduct with a minor, molestation of a child and impersonating a tribal officer.
Tribal prosecutor Paula King said Thursday that she dropped charges against Reed in November and Dupris last month.
"I try to stand by my victims and I try to give them justice, but I just don't have the evidence," said King, who was discussing the cases publicly for the first time. "It got a lot of big press about how BIA had solved these rapes, but when I work with the evidence, I don't have them solved."
A third man still faces federal charges in the case. The BIA arrested Jimi Aday a week before they took Dupris and Reed into custody. He is charged with two counts of kidnapping, one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse, one count of aggravated sexual abuse and three counts of abusive sexual contact. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix is prosecuting that case, which is set for trial on April 17.
Aday's attorney did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Between November 2005 and September 2006, a man posing as a police officer raped or molested 15 girls ranging in age from 11 to 19 on a 2-mile trail that serves as a shortcut between six low-income subdivisions in Whiteriver, the capital of the White Mountain Apache Indian Tribe.
During the BIA's investigation, tribal police and security officers were under scrutiny because of their access to uniforms that are similar to victims' descriptions of their attacker's attire.
Warren Youngman, BIA assistant special agent in charge in Phoenix, said in October that Dupris and Reed worked as tribal security officers, but declined to say what led investigators to them.
Youngman declined to comment Thursday on the dismissal of the charges.
Defense attorney Carol Gatewood-Kasey, who represents Dupris and Reed, said she believes the BIA arrested her clients because they felt pressured by national media coverage.
"They didn't investigate properly," she said. "Once they got identification, they just kind of slapped everything together and said, 'These are our men.'"
King said Reed was accused in just one of the attacks, which occurred March 11 when a man wearing a ski mask approached a boy and a girl. He told the boy to leave and then fondled the girl.
King said the BIA showed the girl pictures of about a dozen men who worked as tribal security officers, and she picked Reed because of the way his eyebrows looked.
She said while Reed did work as a tribal security officer, he didn't start the job or receive his uniform until after the attack. She said the boy who was with the victim is Reed's godson, who said he would have recognized the attacker if it were Reed, even with a mask.
"I had a very weak case and a very strong defense," King said. "I dropped that almost immediately."
King said the evidence was also lacking in the Dupris case.
Dupris was accused in five assaults that occurred in the same location.
King said two of the victims described their attacker as short and stocky. Dupris is tall and thin.
Two victims, one of whom picked Dupris out of a lineup, said their attacker wore a ski mask. The victim who pointed to Dupris, King said, spent a long time looking at the photos and gave inconsistent accounts of the attack.
"I concluded that even on my strongest case, I couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt," King said.
Dupris and Reed could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Gatewood-Kasey released a statement from Dupris to The Associated Press.
"I have served time and suffered for the individual(s) who truthfully committed the crimes," the statement said. "I have sacrificed substantial possessions, freedom, job, education and my family throughout my ordeal. The suffering that my family and I have encountered for the outrageous mistake of the BIA investigators ... will never be forgotten."
Dupris' case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning he can never be charged again in the assaults.
Reed's case was dismissed without prejudice, but Gatewood-Kasey said she plans to file a motion to dismiss his case for good.
King said she would not object to such a motion.
Youngman said that while the investigation remains open, the agency is not looking for other suspects.
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On the Net:
White Mountain Apache Tribe: www.wmat.nsn.us
Bureau of Indian Affairs: www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html
PHOENIX -- Authorities have dropped charges against two men arrested for investigation in a series of sexual assaults on an eastern Arizona Indian reservation in which the attacker posed as a police officer.
Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs arrested Jesse Dupris and Jeremy Reed in October on tribal charges including abduction, sexual conduct with a minor, molestation of a child and impersonating a tribal officer.
Tribal prosecutor Paula King said Thursday that she dropped charges against Reed in November and Dupris last month.
"I try to stand by my victims and I try to give them justice, but I just don't have the evidence," said King, who was discussing the cases publicly for the first time. "It got a lot of big press about how BIA had solved these rapes, but when I work with the evidence, I don't have them solved."
A third man still faces federal charges in the case. The BIA arrested Jimi Aday a week before they took Dupris and Reed into custody. He is charged with two counts of kidnapping, one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse, one count of aggravated sexual abuse and three counts of abusive sexual contact. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix is prosecuting that case, which is set for trial on April 17.
Aday's attorney did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Between November 2005 and September 2006, a man posing as a police officer raped or molested 15 girls ranging in age from 11 to 19 on a 2-mile trail that serves as a shortcut between six low-income subdivisions in Whiteriver, the capital of the White Mountain Apache Indian Tribe.
During the BIA's investigation, tribal police and security officers were under scrutiny because of their access to uniforms that are similar to victims' descriptions of their attacker's attire.
Warren Youngman, BIA assistant special agent in charge in Phoenix, said in October that Dupris and Reed worked as tribal security officers, but declined to say what led investigators to them.
Youngman declined to comment Thursday on the dismissal of the charges.
Defense attorney Carol Gatewood-Kasey, who represents Dupris and Reed, said she believes the BIA arrested her clients because they felt pressured by national media coverage.
"They didn't investigate properly," she said. "Once they got identification, they just kind of slapped everything together and said, 'These are our men.'"
King said Reed was accused in just one of the attacks, which occurred March 11 when a man wearing a ski mask approached a boy and a girl. He told the boy to leave and then fondled the girl.
King said the BIA showed the girl pictures of about a dozen men who worked as tribal security officers, and she picked Reed because of the way his eyebrows looked.
She said while Reed did work as a tribal security officer, he didn't start the job or receive his uniform until after the attack. She said the boy who was with the victim is Reed's godson, who said he would have recognized the attacker if it were Reed, even with a mask.
"I had a very weak case and a very strong defense," King said. "I dropped that almost immediately."
King said the evidence was also lacking in the Dupris case.
Dupris was accused in five assaults that occurred in the same location.
King said two of the victims described their attacker as short and stocky. Dupris is tall and thin.
Two victims, one of whom picked Dupris out of a lineup, said their attacker wore a ski mask. The victim who pointed to Dupris, King said, spent a long time looking at the photos and gave inconsistent accounts of the attack.
"I concluded that even on my strongest case, I couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt," King said.
Dupris and Reed could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Gatewood-Kasey released a statement from Dupris to The Associated Press.
"I have served time and suffered for the individual(s) who truthfully committed the crimes," the statement said. "I have sacrificed substantial possessions, freedom, job, education and my family throughout my ordeal. The suffering that my family and I have encountered for the outrageous mistake of the BIA investigators ... will never be forgotten."
Dupris' case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning he can never be charged again in the assaults.
Reed's case was dismissed without prejudice, but Gatewood-Kasey said she plans to file a motion to dismiss his case for good.
King said she would not object to such a motion.
Youngman said that while the investigation remains open, the agency is not looking for other suspects.
___
On the Net:
White Mountain Apache Tribe: www.wmat.nsn.us
Bureau of Indian Affairs: www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html