Saturday, August 11, 2012

Cass Lake Man Indicted for Kidnapping Girl


MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment unsealed late yesterday charges a 28-year-old Cass Lake man with kidnapping and assaulting a girl while on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Robert Elliot Roybal, Jr., was charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection to the crime. The indictment, which was filed on August 7, 2012, was unsealed following Roybal’s initial appearance in federal court.

The indictment alleges that on June 26, 2010, Roybal kidanpped a girl who was under the age of 18. In addition, it alleges that Roybal assaulted the girl by kicking her.

If convicted, Roybal faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison on each kidnapping count and 10 years for assault. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, with assistance from the Leech Lake Tribal Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.

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