FARGO (KFGO) – A man from the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation will spend 30 years in federal prison for abusive sexual contact of a child.
Wendell Snell, 42 of Fort Totten, admitted to five counts of sexually abusing three children under 12 years old between 2011 and 2014.
Judge Peter Welte gave Snell the maximum of six years on each of the five counts. They will run consecutively. After his release, Snell will be on supervised release for life.
“This serious sentence is seriously appropriate considering the defendant’s unforgivable abuse of multiple children,” U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider said. “We hope it will provide some space for the victims to heal and deter this kind of abhorrent behavior in the future. Our career prosecutors and FBI partners are committed to protecting kids in Indian country and wherever we have jurisdiction, and as this case shows we will firmly hold abusers to account in federal court.”
The case was investigated by the FBI.
“The depravity of Snell’s actions is reflected in today’s sentencing,” Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis said. “When the most vulnerable of our citizens – our children – are victimized, the FBI will do everything in our power to hold the perpetrators accountable and to protect others from harm.”
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