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A 47-year-old Fort Hall man, Shone Jem Bache, has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a child under 12 on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. The abuse occurred on multiple occasions, with the victim, a 9-year-old child, disclosing the trauma to family members and school staff. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Hall Police Department conducted a thorough investigation, corroborating the victim’s account with physical evidence and witness statements.
The investigation led to Bache’s conviction for Abusive Sexual Contact with a Child Under 12 Years of Age. U.S. District Judge David C. Nye handed down the sentence, also ordering Bache to serve five years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a initiative aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Robert Bohls, commended the work of the FBI and the Fort Hall Police Department in bringing Bache to justice.
The sentence brings some closure to the victim and her family, but as U.S. Attorney Davis noted, ‘no punishment can ever undo the trauma inflicted on a child or erase the lifelong impact of these crimes.’ The FBI and its partners will continue to fight to protect the most vulnerable and bring offenders to justice.
