Report: Heidi Heitkamp Ignored Sexual Abuse Allegations Made by Native American Schoolchildren
Peter D'Abrosca
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A damning Tuesday report from Fox News claims that Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) refused to pursue charges against physical and sexual abusers of children during her tenure as State Attorney General in North Dakota.
“North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp did not push to prosecute individuals responsible for physical and sexual abuse of students when she was the state’s Attorney General, with one accused school employee subsequently sexually assaulting a child,” according to the report.
The alleged abuse took place at a boarding school for troubled Native American children.
“The allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the Native American school were largely confirmed by four state and federal investigations conducted by the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office, the North Dakota Department of Human Services, the FBI, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” the report said.
In other words, Heitkamp ignored “credible accusations” of child sexual abuse, instead choosing to let a predator – who would eventually strike again – roam the streets. Just last week, Heitkamp refused to vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh due to allegations of sexual misconduct made by Christine Blasey Ford, which were neither provable nor corroborated.
Heitkamp’s campaign, doing damage control, claimed that she did everything she could to protect the children from their abuser.
“As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Heidi took all of the action within her jurisdiction, including recommendations to improve conditions at the school and has continued work for our Native communities in the Senate,” her press secretary Sean Higgins reportedly said.
But according to a Department of Justice official interviewed by Fox for the report, that is a blatant lie.
“A state attorney general is the lead law enforcement officer in the state. If they want to bring a case, they are not going to be stopped by a county attorney’s recommendation,” according to the DOJ official.
Fox wrote about the school’s conditions:
The school staff members detailed various allegations of abuse, including physical and sexual abuse, inadequate medical care, and other claims of negligence in a wrongful termination lawsuit against WIS Superintendent Robert Hall, who resigned from his post in 1995.
The administration allegedly “ignored” a student who claimed she had been inappropriately touched by another staff member. One former counselor, John Allery, said he reported another staff member for dating a student and providing alcohol to other students, yet no actions were taken.
Other staffers detailed subpar medical care and physical abuse, including slapping other students and giving students so-called “swirlies” that involves holding an individual upside-down with his head in the toilet while flushing it.
A WIS student also said Blaine Buss, a former dorm matron who was convicted of felony assault for nearly choking his wife to death before his employment at the school, “threw him against his bedroom wall and hit him in the face.” Buss and another staffer, David Keehn, also abused two other students, with one student subsequently diagnosed with a fractured cheekbone, according to the probe by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Just a few months later after the end of the investigations and the decision not to prosecute anyone, Buss went on to sexually assault a child. He charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition against a child under the age of 15 in August 1994 and was subsequently sentenced for both counts.
So much for “believing women.”
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