JENNIFER MAIRE SIMPSON WOODENLEGS PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings on December 14, 2006, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JENNIFER MAIRE SIMPSON WOODENLEGS, a 28-year-old resident of Lame Deer, pled guilty to making false statements. Sentencing is set for April 12, 2007. She is currently released on special conditions.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

From December 14, 2004, through January 18, 2005, and, again, from March 19, 2005, until March 20, 2005, WOODENLEGS was incarcerated at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) jail in Lame Deer.

In March of 2005, and then again in April of 2005, WOODENLEGS alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by BIA officers while she was incarcerated. Given the nature of the allegations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation.

On April 13, 2005, WOODENLEGS was interviewed by two FBI agents in Colorado, where she was living at the time. WOODENLEGS provided detailed, specific information to the agents. WOODENLEGS claimed that she was sexually assaulted multiple times by multiple BIA officers during her periods of incarceration.

When questioned, the officers vehemently denied the allegations.

After additional investigation uncovered inconsistencies in WOODENLEGS' story, WOODENLEGS was again interviewed by FBI agents on October 12, 2005. During this interview, WOODENLEGS admitted that she had lied to the FBI agents during the April 2005 interview. She admitted that she had never been sexually assaulted by any BIA officers.

On February 17, 2006, during a telephone conversation with an FBI agent, WOODENLEGS again admitted that she had fabricated the allegations.

WOODENLEGS faces possible penalties of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.

United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana
P.O. Box 1478
Billings, MT 59103

CONTACT

Kurt Alme
First Assistant U.S. Attorney
(406) 246-4669

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