Washington, North Dakota tribal members sentenced in separate sex crime cases

SEATTLE — Officials say two men who are members of tribes in Washington state and North Dakota were sentenced to federal prison in separate sex crime cases.

The Department of Justice said Thursday that Develin Howtopat was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for the rape of a child in Taholah.

The molestation was reported to the Hoquiam Police Department in 2015 and was investigated by Hoquiam Police, the Quinault Nation Police Department and the FBI.

In an unrelated case Aaron Mitzel of the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of supervised release for the 2015 sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman on the Puyallup Indian Reservation in Washington. His case was investigated by the Puyallup Tribal Police Department and the FBI.

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