A U.S. district court judge in Montana ordered the federal government Tuesday to pay a Lame Deer woman $1.6 million in damages stemming from a 2015 case where she was raped by a former BIA officer while he was on duty.
Judge Donald Molloy ruled that the former officer, Dana Bullcoming, was operating under the scope of his employment when he went to the home of the woman, identified only as L.B., and threatened to arrest her for drinking on the dry Northern Cheyenne reservation if she didn't have sex with him. Bullcoming pleaded guilty to rape in 2017 and was sentenced to three years in prison. The victim became pregnant from the rape and is raising the child.
Molloy handed down his ruling after a one-day bench trial on Feb. 4 in Billings, ending a nearly decade-long legal saga for the victim that centered largely on the legal question of whether the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs should be held liable for Bullcoming's actions as an employee.
In his ruling, Molloy noted that Bullcoming arrived at the victim's residence in full uniform, wearing a badge and carrying his gun, and the sexual assault closely correlated with his job. The victim had called the authorities, worried about another person's possible drinking and driving, and that's why Bullcoming arrived at her home, according to court documents. He had the ability to arrest her for the alcohol violation, and he offered to forgo the arrest in exchange for sex, according to the ruling.
"Under the totality of the circumstances, the record shows that Officer Bullcoming was at least partially motivated by an intent or purpose to serve the BIA's interest because his tortious act was closely intermingled with his employment," Molloy wrote.
The case began in 2018, when L.B. sued the U.S. government in federal court, seeking the hold the BIA liable for its officer's action, according to The Daily Montanan. A federal judge in Montana rejected her claim, ruling the scope of employment only includes an employee’s actions if they are made “in furtherance of his employer’s interest.”
She appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which sent the case down to the Montana Supreme Court because it had not yet been litigated in Montana. A federal judge in 2020 awarded L.B. $1.6 million in damages but stopped short of ordering the federal government to pay, citing the previous ruling. In August 2022, the state Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could be responsible for the $1.6 million in damages.
L.B.'s attorney, John Heenan of Billings, told MTN News in 2024 that she plans to use the money from the damages to raise her child.
Related:
Northern Cheyenne woman fighting for settlement 9 years after BIA officer's sexual assault
