A Muldrow man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison after admitting to abusing three children under his care in Sequoyah County.
James D. Bledsoe, 32, pleaded guilty in March to three counts of child abuse in Indian Country. Federal prosecutors said the abuse took place between January and September 2024 within the Cherokee Nation Reservation.
According to investigators with the FBI and Muldrow Police Department, Bledsoe restrained the children and covered their faces, preventing them from breathing. He also sprayed them with cold water and withheld food as punishment.
Chief U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White handed down the 36-month sentence last Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The prison term is non-paroleable, meaning Bledsoe will serve the full sentence.
Bledsoe remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transferred to a federal prison to serve his time. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Wittlinger prosecuted the case.
