Red Lake man federally charged for sexual assault

Jun. 25—RED LAKE — A Red Lake man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to a sexual assault within Red Lake Nation.

According to court documents, between Sept. 26 and 27, 2020, Tony Lee Lussier, 38, of Red Lake, assaulted a victim with a knife. The indictment also alleges that Lussier engaged in a sexual act with the victim who at the time was physically incapable of declining participation in the act, according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office.

Lussier is charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of sexual abuse of an incapable victim. Lussier made his initial appearance on Wednesday, June 23 in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung.

The case against Lussier is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead is prosecuting the case. "An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," the release said.

Back in 2013, Lussier pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Duluth to running a vehicle off the road at the Red Lake Indian Reservation, according to a Pioneer article at the time.

In his plea agreement, Lussier admitted that, while driving a motor vehicle on May 12, 2013, he chased another vehicle with four people inside. He crashed into their vehicle, causing it to roll into a ditch. Then he attempted to assault the people from the other vehicle before returning to his vehicle and driving away.