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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