LAME DEER - A Lame Deer pastor charged last year in federal court with sexually abusing children has been banned from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
Tribal leaders took the measure Tuesday to ban Dean Alan Smith "from the exterior boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation," according to a press release issued by the tribe.
Smith, 66, was charged in December with one count of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact and three counts of abusive sexual contact by force and of a child. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and not less than five years of supervised release.
Prosecutors alleged in an indictment filed Dec. 19 that Smith sexually abused four females, three of whom were under the age of 12, between 2017 and 2019 near Lame Deer. In all four cases, prosecutors alleged that Smith forced the females to engage in sexual contact.
"The Northern Cheyenne Tribe supports and believes in victims of sexual violence," the press release from the tribal council states. "Sexual assault survivors face extreme impacts of trauma and emotional turmoil. Excluding Dean Alan Smith from the Reservation is an effort by Northern Cheyenne Tribal leaders to keep our community safe, as the well-being of our Tribal members is our top priority."
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