Red Lake man sentenced for assault

In federal court Wednesday in St. Paul, a 31-year-old Red Lake man was sentenced to 54 months in prison for assaulting a woman in November 2009.

United States District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank sentenced Christopher Michael Strong on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Strong was indicted Dec. 16, 2009, and pleaded guilty April 27.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in the case, the Red Lake Tribal Police were called to a residence at 11 p.m. Nov. 11, 2009, in response to a complaint that a woman had been beaten. Upon their arrival, officers were led to a back bedroom, where they found a woman lying on a bed, next to Strong. The woman's eyes were swollen shut. She had a laceration on her right jaw, a broken nose, and bruises on her arms, legs, shoulders and face. In addition, she had a bite mark on the left side of her back. She told officers Strong had punched and kicked her repeatedly over several days. She also reported he had smashed her face against a wooden stand. The woman was transported to the Red Lake Indian Health Service Hospital, referred to North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji, and ultimately sent to Saint Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd for needed treatment.

In his plea agreement, Strong admitted that on Nov. 11, 2009, he assaulting the victim resulting in serious bodily injury.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office.

-- Molly Miron