White Earth Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Assaulting a Child

MINNEAPOLIS - A White Earth man was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for assaulting a minor child on the White Earth reservation, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on June 8, 2020, Edward Duane Fairbanks, 30, was caring for a minor child. During the early afternoon hours, Fairbanks intentionally shoved the child into a table, causing a serious head injury. The child was taken to the hospital where doctors diagnosed a large skull fracture and a subdural hematoma. The child had to undergo a craniectomy to relieve pressure on the brain.

Fairbanks was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim. On June 2, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the White Earth Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Mahnomen County Sheriff's Office, and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.