Bureau of Indian Affairs officer pleads guilty to sexually abusing teen on Montana reservation

2026-04-03 00:32:33

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A former federal law enforcement officer pleaded guilty Thursday to sexual abuse after prosecutors said he raped an intoxicated 14-year-old girl on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and tried to cover it up.

Prosecutors said defendant Murrell Deela, who was then an officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, encountered the girl at a gas station on the reservation in southern Montana in August 2024.

When the girl tried to run, Deela performed a “takedown maneuver” on her, put her in the back of his patrol car and drove to an unlit park where he sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.

Deela later took the girl to her grandmother’s house. The girl reported the assault the next day, the documents said.

After Deela was asked by investigators to download video footage from his patrol car from the night of the assault, he reported that his patrol car had burned in a fire, the documents said.

Investigators determined the fire had been intentionally lit, and Deela’s fingerprints were the only ones found on the vehicle, the documents said.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs conducts law enforcement on Native American reservations across the U.S.

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FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Gerken said in a statement that the outcome of the case reflected the victim’s courage in coming forward. Gerken described Durrell’s actions as “a betrayal of everything law enforcement stands for.”

The sexual abuse charge carries a maximum punishment of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also pleaded guilty to lying to investigators, which carries a maximum of eight years in prison.

However, Deela could serve a shorter sentence under a plea deal with prosecutors.

A sentencing date before U.S. District Judge Bill Mercer was not immediately scheduled.

The Associated Press left a telephone message with Deela’s attorneys seeking comment.

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