LOGAN — A 21-year-old Smithfield man is headed for prison for raping several teenage girls after supplying them with drugs and alcohol. Manny Bald Eagle has been in the Cache County Jail since being arrested in October 2022.
Bald Eagle was sentenced Wednesday, March 28, during a virtual hearing in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; two counts of assault by prisoner and distribution of a controlled substance, all third-degree felonies; and attempted assault by a prisoner, a class A misdemeanor.
Bald Eagle appeared for the hearing by web conference from jail, where he is being held in solitary confinement after allegedly assaulting jail deputies. He was wearing handcuffs and flanked by two guards.
In 2022, the victim told North Park Police officers how Bald Eagle supplied her alcohol and marijuana. He then sexually assaulted her repeatedly.
After Bald Eagle was arrested, other girls came forward with similar stories. In one case, he recorded himself sexual assaulting the victim while she was unconscious.
Court records show, Bald Eagle has been arrested more than 20 times for various offenses ranging from drug possession, driving under the influence and failing to stop at the command of law enforcement.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, Cache County Deputy Attorney Griffin Hazard explained that prosecutors had dismissed one of the sex abuse charges against Bald Eagle. He explained that the case lacked sufficient evidence but could be refiled at a later date.
Defense attorney Shannon Demler explained how he had gotten to know Bald Eagle during the past 18 months, and believed his client was remorseful and knew what he did was wrong. He asked the court to consider concurrent sentences because of the defendant’s young age.
Demler told the court how Bald Eagle was born on an Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was abused as child, beginning at 8-years-old, and later lived in 15 foster and 20 residential homes.
Hazard said he felt sorry the defendant had a difficult upbringing but that wasn’t an excuse for the choices made. He stated Bald Eagle had four pages of criminal history and has left a wake of victims.
The parents of one girl said if it wasn’t for their daughter standing up and speaking to police, more girls would have been raped. They called the defendant a “danger to society and a monster.”
Bald Eagle said he knew what it was like to feel pain, grief, and to be unwanted. He admitted to making mistakes, and was sorry for not listening to his victims and caring more about his “sexual gratifications.”
Judge Brian Cannell said it was hard to tell if Bald Eagle was genuinely remorseful for these “heinous acts.” He sentenced the defendant to at least five years to life at the Utah State Correctional Facility.
Bald Eagle has been incarcerated for 547 days. It will be up to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to determine when he is eligible for release.