Stanley Weber, Child Sex Abuse, Oklahoma 2019

WASHINGTON D.C. - A pediatrician convicted of sexually assaulting children while working for the Indian Health Service (IHS) system has been behind bars since his conviction.

Dr. Stanley Weber, a former doctor at the IHS, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Montana and South Dakota. He is currently serving time in federal prison.

The Presidential Task Force on Protecting Native American Children in the Indian Health Service System presented their findings and recommendations to First Lady Melania Trump at the White House on Thursday.

Federal officials say the task force was formed in March 2019 to investigate the institutional and systemic breakdown that failed to prevent Dr. Weber's crimes.

U.S. Attorney Trent Shores, co-chair of the task force, shared an overview of the task force's findings.

'The President's creation of this task force transcends politics,' said U.S. Attorney Shores. 'The idea of protecting children is not just a moral obligation, it is a righteous one.'

The task force found that decades of systemic institutional problems led to an environment where a predatory pedophile like Dr. Weber could take advantage of government inefficiencies and confusion to sexually abuse children.

The task force made ten recommendations to provide greater protection to Native American children in IHS, including annual training of IHS employees, creating a centralized child abuse hotline, and improving credentialing processes.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndok/pr/presidential-task-force-protecting-native-american-children-indian-health-service