In the early morning hours of September 23rd, the Sanford Bemidji Medical Center's emergency department contacted the Bemidji Police Department to report a suspected sexual assault involving an 11-year-old girl.
The girl's identity hasn't been publicly disclosed, but sources have shared with Native News Online that she belongs to the Ojibwe community and comes from one of the three Ojibwe Indian Reservations surrounding Bemidji, Minnesota.
A 22-year-old man named Oscar Ernesto Luna, hailing from Mission, Texas, is currently in custody, facing charges related to the incident reported by the 11-year-old victim.
According to court documents, the victim recounted being tied up in a room in a Bemidji residence with two other young girls on either side of her while four men took turns assaulting them. The home is located within a city block of J.W. Smith Elementary School.
Local law enforcement later identified Luna as a suspect based on descriptions provided by the victim. A search warrant was executed at a nearby residence, where Luna was found, along with several items that had blood on them. Luna denied the allegations but admitted knowing the victim's aunt, who, he said, brought the girl to the house where the incident took place.
Luna willingly provided a DNA sample for testing and is currently facing one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Beltrami County. He also has active arrest warrants for impaired driving cases in Hennepin County, which will proceed alongside the ongoing investigation. If convicted, Luna could face up to 30 years in a Minnesota state prison.
Following the search warrant execution, Bemidji Police discovered several other individuals in the house, with 11 of them facing potential processing as illegal immigrants by U.S. Border Patrol. However, no information was provided regarding the citizenship status of these individuals.
Emails from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation confirmed that the Bemidji Police Department leads the investigation, with assistance from the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office. Neither agency responded to inquiries from Native News Online as of press time.
The circumstances surrounding how the victim ended up at the crime scene remain unclear. Police reports suggest that the 11-year-old victim was in the company of an intoxicated woman she referred to as "auntie" on the night of September 22nd, who wanted to "party."
While with the older woman, the girl got into a man's car, but she did not specify the make or location of the vehicle. During the drive to a Bemidji home, a bag was placed over her head, and upon arrival, the 11-year-old was coerced into consuming alcohol and subsequently restrained, witnessing other abusive acts.
As of now, no additional arrests have been made in connection with the case, including the individual the victim was with on the night of the crime. Additionally, the Beltrami County Attorney's Office has not filed any additional charges stemming from the ongoing investigation.
Last week, multiple organizations, including tribes, non-profits, and state and federal agencies in Bemidji, conducted a two-day search for Nevaeh Kingbird, who went missing at the age of 15 in 2021. Kingbird's disappearance is one of several incidents involving young Ojibwe individuals in recent years.
The investigation remains ongoing, and developments in the case continue to unfold.
In another news, a 13-year-old boy has admitted guilt in the tragic case of causing the death of a grandmother, who was fatally struck by a car in Sheffield. See detailed story here
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