FARGO, S.D. – A North Dakota woman pleaded guilty Monday to felony child abuse leading to the death of a toddler on the Spirit Lake Reservation, which has been besieged with complaints of an ineffective child protection system.

Hope Louise Tomahawk Whiteshield, 32, pleaded guilty to one charge of child abuse and one charge of witness tampering in a federal court in Fargo, U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon said. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but federal prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 30 years in prison for the two felonies combined under the plea agreement. Tomahawk Whiteshield has agreed not to seek a sentence of less than 25 years.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Tomahawk Whiteshield, of St. Michael, was charged with throwing her step-granddaughter, who was just shy of 3 years old, down an embankment on June 12. Tomahawk Whiteshield then bathed and clothed the unresponsive toddler before putting her to bed. The girl was found dead the next morning, and an autopsy concluded she died of a head injury. Federal authorities said Tomahawk Whiteshield is married to the child's grandfather, Freeman Whiteshield.

“The guilty pleas entered today by Hope Whiteshield are an important step in securing justice for the victims in this case,” Purdon said in a statement.

Purdon said the U.S. Attorney's Office remains committed to protecting the children on Spirit Lake and the other North Dakota Indian reservations.

Tomahawk Whiteshield's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

North Dakota's U.S. senators had called for quick action by federal authorities in the death of the toddler. The effectiveness of the tribe's child protection services has been under debate for more than a year. In October, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs took over control of the tribe's child protection services because of criticism over child abuse and neglect on the reservation.

A special agent with the FBI has said that the girl and her twin sister lived with a foster family in Bismarck for two years before being transferred back to the reservation about a month before the child's death.

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