McCurtain County Resident Sentenced To Life For Sexually Abusing A Child

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Brett Dewayne Cole, age 34, of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison for each of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian Country and for one count of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian Country.  The sentences are to run concurrently.

The charges arose from an investigation by the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On March 7, 2023, Cole was found guilty by a federal jury.  At trial, the United States presented evidence that from January to May of 2019, Cole sexually assaulted a minor female in his custody and care whom he knew to be under the age of twelve.  Two other witnesses testified that Cole also assaulted them when they were under the age of twelve. The crimes occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“Thanks to the bravery of the victims who testified in this case, Mr. Cole will never again be able to abuse another child, and our community is a much safer place for everyone,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Joseph Skarda of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office.  “The three life sentences handed down today plainly reflect the gravity of the crimes, along with the FBI’s commitment to putting child predators behind bars.”

“Mr. Cole’s appalling crimes against children warrant these life sentences,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.  “My heart goes out to the brave individuals who survived Mr. Cole’s assaults, and who summoned the courage necessary to report and provide witness to his crimes.  Together with investigators and prosecutors, they have ensured that Mr. Cole is no longer at liberty to prey on others.”

The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the sentencing hearing.  Cole will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Paladino represented the United States at the sentencing hearing.