Sallisaw man convicted of sexually abusing under-age granddaughter for five years

Jerry Dewayne Rogers, 59, from Sallisaw, Okla. has been convicted for sexually abusing his granddaughter when she was 8 until she was 13, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Rogers was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian Country, three counts of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian County, and one count of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country.

Based on the verdicts, the defendant is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than thirty years imprisonment.

During the trial, evidence showed that Rogers had sexually abused his granddaughter. The sexual abuse began when she was 8 years old and continued until she was 13 years old. The Rogers’ crimes came to light when his granddaughter disclosed, at 16 years years old, how the defendant had abused her.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the victim is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crimes occurred in Sequoyah County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.