Rape case against Canadian district deputy now under tribal jurisdiction

The case of a former Canadian district deputy accused of raping an inmate during transport is changing hands under tribal jurisdiction.

Related: Former Canadian district deputy charged with second-degree rape

Wesley Hunter Jr. was arrested this week on a second-degree rape charge.

Since Hunter is a Native American, the FBI will now take over the case.

Hunter was transporting a female inmate from Bryan County when he stopped at a remote location in Marshall County, according to investigators. Since this is also tribal land, this case is squarely in the hands of the tribal courts.

“Really it just means a local court has to deal with it,” said tribal attorney RJ Harris. “We have seen it time and time again and the Supreme Court has affirmed that native nations are sovereign.”

According to Harris, it all boils down to a single Supreme Court ruling.

“The McGirt ruling essentially said that there is no abrogation of the traditional boundaries of the native nation,” he said.

However, the original investigation was carried out by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

“When the OSBI was requested, OSBI special agents were able to locate the location of the attack as part of their investigation,” said OSBI’s Hunter McKee.

It happened near State Highway 70 and Antioch Road. According to investigators, the now-former deputy was taken into custody based on the OSBI’s findings.

“They arrested this officer and took him to Marshall County Jail for second-degree rape,” McKee said.

Harris says the change in jurisdiction doesn’t mean everything goes out the window.

“The investigations carried out could potentially be transferred to the country’s police,” he said.

He also said that one needs to keep the bigger picture in mind.

“Whether it’s a national court or a state court, I don’t think it will matter,” he said. “Justice will be served in both cases.”