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BILLINGS, Mont. — <\/span>A former federal law enforcement officer pleaded guilty Thursday to sexual abuse after prosecutors said he raped an intoxicated 14-year-old girl on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and tried to cover it up.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said defendant Murrell Deela, who was then an officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, encountered the girl at a gas station on the reservation in southern Montana in August 2024. <\/p>\n When the girl tried to run, Deela performed a \u201ctakedown maneuver\u201d on her, put her in the back of his patrol car and drove to an unlit park where he sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.<\/p>\n Deela later took the girl to her grandmother’s house. The girl reported the assault the next day, the documents said.<\/p>\n After Deela was asked by investigators to download video footage from his patrol car from the night of the assault, he reported that his patrol car had burned in a fire, the documents said.<\/p>\n Investigators determined the fire had been intentionally lit, and Deela’s fingerprints were the only ones found on the vehicle, the documents said.<\/p>\n The Bureau of Indian Affairs conducts law enforcement on Native American reservations across the U.S.<\/p>\n FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Gerken said in a statement that the outcome of the case reflected the victim’s courage in coming forward. Gerken described Durrell’s actions as \u201ca betrayal of everything law enforcement stands for.\u201d<\/p>\n The sexual abuse charge carries a maximum punishment of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also pleaded guilty to lying to investigators, which carries a maximum of eight years in prison.<\/p>\n However, Deela could serve a shorter sentence under a plea deal with prosecutors.<\/p>\n A sentencing date before U.S. District Judge Bill Mercer was not immediately scheduled.<\/p>\n The Associated Press left a telephone message with Deela’s attorneys seeking comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n