Cut Bank man admits assaulting minor

GREAT FALLS – A Cut Bank man today admitted assaulting a minor girl on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Daniel Mark Tanner, 33, pleaded guilty to assault on a minor as charged in a superseding information. Tanner faces a maximum five years in prison, a $50,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and set sentencing for Sept. 17. Tanner was released pending further proceedings.

The prosecution said in court records that in January 2018, the Cut Bank Police Department began investigating allegations of Tanner having inappropriate contact with a minor girl. At the time of the disclosure, the victim was under the age of 14. In an interview with law enforcement, the victim said that a few months earlier, she awoke to find that Tanner had grabbed her hand and pulled it toward him. She described trying to move her hand away, but Tanner held it against her will. The assault occurred on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah Paisley is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services.