Arthur Dion Longee Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on January 9, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, ARTHUR DION LONGEE, a 25-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared for sentencing. LONGEE was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 24 months

• Special Assessment: $ 100.00

• Supervised Release: 10 years

LONGEE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to sexual abuse of a minor.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

During the evening of July 15, 2011, the victim went to the powwow in Poplar. While at the powwow, the victim sent a text message to LONGEE to see if there was a party occurring. The victim left the powwow to meet up with LONGEE and a few friends. At the party, the victim drank liquor and became pretty drunk. At one point, a fight broke out and the victim left the house with LONGEE as the morning sky started to get lighter. They walked to LONGEE's grandmother's house.

The next thing the victim remembered was waking up to LONGEE having sex with her. She told him to stop several times and finally he did. LONGEE then received a phone call from the police and he told the victim someone had turned him into the cops. He told the victim to shower and wash up good, and threw a towel at her.

Prior to the sexual assault, the victim's mother called the police to report her daughter was missing. An officer learned the victim had been last seen potentially with LONGEE. Officers went to LONGEE's house, and at one point, the victim peaked out the window and saw the police outside. But, LONGEE would not let her leave. The victim was later able to leave the house and told her mother she had been sexually assaulted.

A sexual assault examination was completed at the hospital and law enforcement collected physical evidence. The FBI Laboratory analyzed the swabs taken from LONGEE and it was determined that the victim was the major female contributor of DNA to this sample.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LONGEE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LONGEE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division.