GREAT FALLS—A Box Elder man accused of assaulting and strangling a woman on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation pleaded guilty on Nov. 1 to domestic assault by habitual offender, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Henry James Daychild, Jr., 41, admitted to the crime during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris. Judge Morris set sentencing for Feb. 13, 2020. Daychild was detained pending further proceedings.

Daychild faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

The prosecution said in court records that Daychild assaulted the victim on May 23, 2018 by hitting her and strangling her multiple times. The victim lost consciousness twice during the assault. She escaped to a neighbor’s home to call the police and sought medical care. The victim has sustained serious injuries in the past as a result of Daychild’s abuse.

Daychild has four prior tribal domestic violence convictions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Cobell is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the Chippewa Cree Criminal Investigations.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Aug. 19 was:

Benjamin Ira Badbear, 34, of Billings, and Carrie Marie Rinesmith, 39, of Billings. Badbear is charged with possession of a stolen firearm, receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment and prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Rinesmith is charged with possession of a stolen firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Badbear and Rinesmith face a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Both are detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Pacer case reference. 19-92.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston on Aug. 20 and pleading not guilty was:

Timothy Blackman, 27, of Browning, on charges of sexual abuse. If convicted of the most serious crime, Blackman faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. Blackman was released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-52.

Appearing on Aug. 21 and pleading not guilty was:

Henry James Daychild, Jr., 41, of Box Elder, on charges of strangulation and domestic abuse by habitual offender. If convicted of the most serious crime, Daychild faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Daychild was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-61.

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

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