By BROOKLYN BROWN BIGMEAT
One Feather Reporter
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 4 in the Asheville U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Shawnenna Caroline Roland, 41, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), entered a guilty plea with Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf presiding, for one count of child abuse in Indian Country, one count of child neglect in Indian Country, and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country. The incidents occurred in May 2024. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson stated in a release from his office, “There is no excuse for treating a helpless child this way…Roland relentlessly assaulted and abused a child entrusted in her care, causing the child serious and lasting harm. This is disgusting behavior that will land you in federal prison.”
Below are details from the plea agreement, so agreed to by the prosecuting attorney Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex M. Scott, attorney for the defendant Steven Slawinski, and Roland.
“Count One: child abuse in Indian Country, a Class B2 state felony…A term of imprisonment of between 94 months (mitigated sentence as Prior Record Level I) and 484 months (aggravated sentence as a Prior Record Level VI), and a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years. The defendant is also subject to a fine in an amount left to the discretion of the court limited to $250,000 under federal law and a $100 special assessment.
Count Two: child neglect in Indian Country, a Class E state felony…A term of imprisonment of between 15 months (mitigated sentence as Prior Record Level I) and 88 months (aggravated sentence as a Prior Record Level VI), and a term of supervised realize of not more than 3 years. The defendant is also subject to a fine in an amount left to the discretion of the court limited to $250,000 under federal law and a $100 special assessment.
Count Three: assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country…A term of imprisonment of not more than ten years, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both imprisonment and a fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a $100 special assessment.”
The One Feather will provide an update on sentencing once adjudicated.
