BILLINGS, MT – Murrell Deela, 29, a former Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officer, has confessed to a horrific betrayal of trust, sexually abusing a minor while on duty at the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation on August 7, 2024. Deela not only committed the assault but then engaged in a desperate and ultimately failed attempt to conceal his actions, investigators say.
According to court records, Deela encountered the minor victim while on patrol. Instead of transporting her home as expected, Deela drove the teenager to a remote location and committed the sexual assault. The victim bravely came forward the following day, and subsequent FBI investigation quickly corroborated her account. The details of the abuse are deeply disturbing and highlight a gross abuse of power.
But the crime didn’t end there. Days after the assault, when ordered to submit his patrol vehicle for evidence collection, Deela deliberately set it ablaze, destroying crucial video evidence that would have further implicated him. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined the fire was intentionally set, revealing the extent of Deela’s efforts to obstruct justice.
Deela further compounded his lies by filing a false report, claiming he’d driven the minor directly to her family’s home. During an FBI interview, he repeated this falsehood until confronted with mounting evidence, at which point he admitted to transporting the victim to the alternate location. The sheer audacity of his attempts to evade accountability is staggering.
“Rather than serve and protect those within the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, the defendant used his position of power to sexually assault a minor entrusted to his care, and then he lied and attempted to conceal his crime,” stated Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The minor victim suffered harm that cannot be quantified, but this Justice Department will hold accountable those who violate positions of public trust and prey on the citizens they have sworn to protect.”
Special Agent in Charge Justin Gerken of the FBI Billings Field Office echoed this sentiment, stating, “Any abuse of authority, especially against a minor, causes lasting harm and is a betrayal of everything law enforcement stands for. The FBI will continue working to ensure accountability for those who exploit positions of trust to harm others.” The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and ATF, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Lee for the District of North Dakota and Senior Sex Crimes Counsel Tara Allison and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Deela now faces sentencing for his crimes.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Sex Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Press Release
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