Latimer County Resident Pleads Guilty To Sexual Abuse Of A Minor

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Michael Morgan Ellis, Jr., age 38, of Wilburton, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to three counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country, punishable by up to fifteen years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and two counts of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian Country, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Indictment alleged that beginning in July 2023, and continuing until June 26, 2024, Ellis knowingly engaged in sex acts and sexual contact with a minor who had attained the age of 12 years but had not attained the age of 16 years, and who was at least four years younger than Ellis.

The crimes occurred in Pittsburg County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the McAlester Police Department, and the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police.

The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.

A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Ellis will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Wittlinger and Nicole Paladino represented the United States.