Red Lake Man Indicted for Sexually Abusing Two Boys

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a 21-year-old Red Lake man for allegedly sexually abusing two boys (ages 6 and 7) on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. In an indictment filed with the U.S. District Court earlier today, Eagle Wind Lajeunesse was charged with one count of aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of abusive sexual contact.

The indictment alleges that from January 1 until March 16, 2009, Lajeunesse knowingly engaged in a sexual act with a boy younger than 12 and had sexual contact with that same boy as well as a second boy under the age of 12.

According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit, Red Lake Family and Children Services contacted the FBI on August 30, 2009, to report that two boys were being sexually abused.

If convicted, Lajeunesse faces a potential maximum penalty of life in federal prison on all three counts. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

While nine of Minnesota’s 11 Indian reservations are subject to State criminal jurisdiction, the Red Lake and Nett Lake reservations turn to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution of their felonies. Even those these two reservations account for a very small portion of the population served by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Minnesota, their residents are victimized criminally at a rate about two and one-half times that of the State’s general population. Therefore, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is determined to prosecute Indian Country crimes swiftly and aggressively in hopes of making reservation life safer for all.

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