United States v. Fire Cloud, No. 14-1094 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseBased on an incident between Fire Cloud, an Indian, and his friend’s girlfriend, that occurred in his home on Indian land, Fire Cloud was charged with aggravated sexual abuse by force (Count I) and attempted aggravated sexual abuse, 18 U.S.C. 2241(a). He requested the district court instruct the jury regarding a lesser-included offense, abusive sexual contact, with respect to Count I, 18 U.S.C. 2244(a)(1). On Count I, the jury found him guilty of the lesser-included offense of abusive sexual contact. On Count II, the jury found him guilty of attempted aggravated sexual abuse. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, finding that the evidence taken in the light most favorable to the verdict and reasonable inferences drawn from that evidence demonstrate that a reasonable jury could have found Fire Cloud guilty for both offense.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law. Evidence was sufficient to support defendant's convictions for abusive sexual contact and attempted aggravated sexual abuse as the evidence was sufficient for a jury to infer that he restrained the victim, thereby supplying each count's force requirement.
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