5 MN Women Guilty In Child Abuse Case That Included Torture: Feds

BEMIDJI, MN — Five members of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians have been convicted of multiple child abuse charges including child torture and child neglect on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

The victim — a boy — was 13 or 14 at the time of the abuse, the Star Tribune reported.

Trina Mae Johnson, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of child torture, one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, one count of child endangerment, and one count of assault on a minor with a dangerous weapon.

Ellie Mae Johnson, Patricia Ann Johnson, and Bertram Calvin Lussier, Jr. each pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment.

Bobbi Jo Johnson, 46, was convicted on one count of child neglect (deprivation of food and health care), and one count of child endangerment.

All five women will be sentenced at a later date.

Between Jan. 1, 2021, and April 29, 2022, Johnson "directed the torture, endangerment, neglect, and abuse" of a child who was in Johnson’s legal custody through a foster care placement, according to investigators.

Johnson was aided by her three sisters and Lussier, Jr., who regularly assumed responsibility for all or a portion of the care and supervision of the minor victim, authorities said.

The abuse included withholding food from the victim to the point of starvation, forcing the victim to stand in uncomfortable positions for long periods, and assaulting the victim in various ways, according to investigators.

As a result of Johnson’s and her accomplices’ abuse, the victim suffered serious and substantial physical, mental, and emotional harm, authorities said.