Omaha Nation Indian Reservation Woman Sentenced For Child Abuse
Thursday, January 2, 2025, 7:45 P.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
OMAHA, NE.- A 29-year-old former Vermont woman, recently living in Pender, Nebraska, on the Omaha Nation Indian Reservation, will be spending nearly the next three years in prison after she was sentenced last month for hitting a toddler in the head, causing the child to sustain serious life-threatening injuries.
According to U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr, on Thursday, December 19, 2024, Danielle Cleary, 29, of Pender, Nebraska, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for her conviction of Child Abuse.
According To Documents Filed With The Court
According to the charging documents filed with the District Court, on January 11, 2023, Cleary struck a 3-year-old child in the head with a large toy, causing the child to sustain severe head trauma. The child was Life-Flighted from a hospital in Pender to Children’s Nebraska in Omaha, where the boy was treated for life-threatening injuries. The child ultimately recovered and was released after spending a month in the hospital.
Cleary initially denied causing the child’s injury but later admitted to striking the child in the head and later pleaded guilty to negligent child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. According to U.S. Attorney Lehr, the case was prosecuted in federal court because the victim was a Native American or Indian, and Cleary is not an Indian. The offense occurred on a Native American Reservation, therefore being under federal jurisdiction.
