GREAT FALLS — A Wolf Point woman who admitted to assaulting a toddler on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation was sentenced on Thursday to 34 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
Shelby Loves Him, 23, pleaded guilty in May to an indictment charging her with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and felony child abuse.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Loves Him had been caring for the victim, a toddler, identified as John Doe, when on Dec. 8, 2021, law enforcement officers were contacted about John Doe being unresponsive at the Poplar Community Hospital. The officers observed bruising and scratches on John Doe’s head, arms and legs. When questioned about events prior to John Doe arriving at the hospital, Loves Him told officers that she had struck John Doe multiple times in the week leading up to an incident on Dec. 8, 2021, when she assaulted him. John Doe was flown to Salt Lake City, Utah, for emergency life-saving surgery and continues to suffer significant impairment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy A. Johnson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Montana Highway Patrol and Fort Peck Tribes Police Department.
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