Woman who accused BIA officer of rape admits lying

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A woman who accused a federal police officer of sexually assaulting her on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation has admitted lying.

Timothy Purdon, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota, says 46-year-old Victoria Bobtail Bear of McLaughlin, S.D., has pleaded guilty to a charge of giving false statements. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when she's sentenced on Oct. 20.

Bobtail Bear was arrested for disorderly conduct last Nov. 30, put in a patrol vehicle and taken to the jail in Fort Yates. She later reported being sexually assaulted en route. Purdon says the accused Bureau of Indian Affairs officer had recorded the entire trip on his lapel camera, exonerating him.