4th man pleads guilty to selling Native American remains

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The government says an Ohio man has pleaded guilty to digging up and selling the remains of a Native American.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus says it’s the first enforcement of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the Southern District of Ohio.

Prosecutors say Toby Thacker pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday to breaking the law by excavating and selling the remains.

Two men pleaded guilty last year in the same case while a fourth man has previously pleaded guilty to buying the bones.

Thacker faces up to a year in prison. His attorney declined to comment.

The 55-year-old Wellston man was accused of digging up the remains from a rock shelter in Salt Creek Valley in Jackson County.