LAME DEER, Mont. – A pastor from Lame Deer has been forcibly excluded from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation as he faces several federal sexual abuse charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 66-year-old Dean Alan Smith is charged with one count of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact and three counts of abusive sexual contact by force and of a child.
Last month, Smith pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The indictment alleges that between 2017 and 2020, Smith forced at least four victims, three of which were younger than 12-years-old, to have sexual contact with him by force.
If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and not less than five years of supervised release.
During a Tribal Council Meeting on January 3rd, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council voted to exclude Smith from the exterior boundaries of the Reservation. In a statement, the tribe says this is a rare course of action for the council, but they did so in the best interests of the Reservation’s residents.
You can read the rest of the story here. Diane Casanova ( Non Stop Billings)
