Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris on Tuesday convicted a Justine Zane Gobert of Browning of sexually abusing a young girl on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said in a news release that after a one-day bench trial in federal court in Great Falls, Judge Morris found Gobert guilty of abusive sexual contact.
The prosecution said in court documents filed in the case that Gobert sexually abused a minor girl, who was under the age of 12, in June 2017.
The abuse occurred in a residence on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
"Too many children are the victims of sexual abuse. This child should have grown up like other children, thinking about school, family and friends, and optimistic about the world and her future. Instead, actions like the defendant’s traumatize their victims, and they need to be held accountable, as the defendant was yesterday," said Alme.
Gobert, 38 years old, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Judge Morris set sentencing for January 21.
