PORT GAMBLE, Wash. (AP) - A 59-year-old member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe has been convicted of five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor.
Justice Department officials said in a news release that a jury in U.S. District Court in Tacoma found Leroy Charles guilty on Monday.
Federal prosecutors say Charles assaulted young teens at various times and places on the Port Gamble S’Klallam reservation between 2000 and 2005, overpowering the victims and in one case drugging a teen. He reportedly threatened to kill the victims and their families if they reported the abuse.
The victims came forward when they learned Charles would be released from prison in an unrelated case.
Charles faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and up to life in prison at sentencing in February 2016.
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