A man accused of raping an underage girl near Cromwell in 2018 has been found guilty on multiple sexual abuse counts by a federal jury.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced Thursday that Edmond “Ed” Carl Warrington, 71, of Okemah was found guilty of three counts of Sexual Abuse in Indian Country.

The jury trial began with testimony on Monday, May 24 and concluded on Wednesday, May 26 with the guilty verdicts. Warrington was acquitted on three counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian Country.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the evidence presented at trial “proved that from on or about April 2017 to on or about May 12, 2018, that Warrington, an Indian, knowingly caused and attempted to cause the victim to engage in sexual acts with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, arouse and gratify the sexual desire of any person, and knowing that the victim was incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct.”

The guilty verdicts were the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Depart ment, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department, the District 24 Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

The case was originally handled by the state, but it was picked up by federal authorities following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year in McGirt v. Oklahoma. Under that ruling, state prosecutors do not have jurisdiction over crimes involving Native Americans and tribal land.

In a pre-trial hearing held at the Okfuskee County Courthouse, the victim’s father testified that on May 12, 2018, his daughter, who was 17 at the time, left the house to ride four wheelers around his property as well as Warrington’s property, which adjoined his land. He said it was not out of the ordinary for her to ride around on both properties.

The father said he and his family always tracked each other using an iPhone application and when he checked his daughter’s icon on the screen, it hadn’t moved for about 15 minutes. He said he walked from his house to check on her, and as he walked on to Warrington’s property, he saw Warrington’s truck parked with his daughter’s four-wheeler close to it. He said as he got closer, he could see his daughter’s legs inside the truck.

Warrington was initially charged in district court with one count of rape in the first or second degree. Those charges were dismissed, but in 2019 new charges of first-degree rape by force or fear and second-degree rape by instrumentation were filed. Warrington was taken into federal custody last November when he showed up for a hearing at the Okfuskee County Courthouse.

The Honorable David Cleveland Joseph, U.S. District Judge out of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, temporarily assigned to the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the federal trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. Warrington was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending the sentencing hearing. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Essley and Assistant United States Attorney Sarah McAmis represented the United States.