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Trial of Former Deputy States Attorney, Child Advocate, Begins in Aberdeen

Opening statements began Monday at a trial in Aberdeen where a former Deputy States Attorney and a child advocate are accused of misdemeanor counts of unauthorized disclosure of child abuse and neglect information; and multiple counts of subornation of perjury.

The origins of the case date back to 2011, when two Lakota girls accused their white foster parents of sexual abuse.

Attorney Brandon Taliaferro and children’s advocate Shirley Schwab assisted the girls in bringing their foster father to justice.  The man is now serving one sentence for rape of a child.

Regardless of the man’s guilt, Taliaferro and Schwab are being prosecuted for the manner in which they assisted the Lakota girls.

Daniel Sheehan, Lead Council for the Lakota Peoples Law Project, is observing the trial.

"The prosecutor laid out his case asserting that they assumed this this must have been a setup by getting these kids to testify,” says Sheehan. “Because it was too coincidental that all the information that was necessary to bring criminal charges against these people ended up being said by the girls”  

Sheehan says representatives from tribes across the state are in Aberdeen to witness the proceedings, which continues.