Seattle – A 57-year-old member of the Lummi Nation was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 years in prison for aggravated sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones sentenced Lewis Dean Armstrong to 30 years in prison, the mandatory minimum sentence for the offense and imposed a lifetime term of supervised release following prison. Armstrong will also be required to register as a sex offender.
In March 2014, Armstrong was convicted at trial of aggravated sexual abuse of a 6-year-old child. The assault occurred in March 2013, at a home on the Lummi reservation where the child was visiting her father. DNA evidence linked Armstrong to the assault.
Following the conviction, in June 2014, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour sentenced Armstrong to 20 years in prison, ruling the 30-year mandatory minimum sentence was unconstitutional as applied to Armstrong. On March 3, 2020, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Armstrong’s conviction, reversed the 20-year sentence, and sent the case back for resentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Lummi Nation Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London. Mr. London serves as a Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.