BEMIDJI
A 51-year-old Crosby, Minn., man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Bemidji for sexually abusing two girls younger than 12.
United States District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank sentenced Fabian Fransisco Spears to 204 months in prison on two counts of abusive sexual contact. Spears was indicted Sept. 23, and pleaded guilty to the charges March 9.
In his plea agreement, Spears admitted that from April 2006 through October 2006, while visiting family on the Red Lake Reservation, he engaged in sexual contact with two family members, both of whom were younger than 12 at the time. Spears further admitted that during that time period, he had abusive sexual contact with the girls on more than one occasion.
The Red Lake Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation. The federal government has primary law enforcement jurisdiction over felonies committed there. This case was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted through the U.S. Attorney's Office by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tricia A. Tingle.
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The Bemidji Pioneer and the Herald are Forum Communications Co. newspapers.
