A Tulsa man pleaded guilty in federal court to a 2015 rape he committed within the Cherokee Nation near the OSU-Tulsa campus, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Eugene Todd Nunley, 48, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse by force and threat in Indian Country on Aug. 26. As stipulated in his plea agreement, Nunley faces 14 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan will make the final sentencing determination on Jan. 5, 2022.
The defendant admitted that he forced the female victim into a wooded area and raped her on Aug. 13, 2015. The victim was walking on the Osage Prairie Trail near 900 North Greenwood Avenue when Nunley attacked her from behind. Following the rape, the defendant told the victim she was “lucky” then ran away.
The victim reported the crime and told officers she did not know her attacker. In early September 2015, DNA testing revealed Nunley was the perpetrator. Officers located the defendant in the Creek County jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges.
Nunley, a Muscogee Nation citizen, was previously convicted of the 2015 rape in Tulsa County District Court. His conviction was overturned after the Cherokee Nation reservation was recognized as having never been disestablished by Congress. He was indicted in federal court in June 2021.
“My hope is that the victim in this case sees herself as a survivor and a protector of other women. Her willingness to again confront a life-altering trauma and defendant Eugene Nunley was crucial to ensuring this predator faced justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chantelle D. Dial is prosecuting the case.
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