The task force has seven members, with Shores and Joseph Grogan, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, serving as co-chairs. The other five members are: Bo Leach, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services Stephanie Knapp, MSW, LCSW, Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Office for Victims Assistance, Child Victim Services Unit Shannon Bears Cozzoni, Tribal Liaison and Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma Caitlin A. Hall, MD, FAAP, Clinical Director/Pediatrician, Dzilth-na-o-dith-hle Health Center, Indian Health Service Farnoosh Faezi-Marian, Program Examiner, Office of Management and Budget Of the seven members, none presently work in the Great Plains or Rocky Mountain regions, where the abuse incidents at the IHS occurred. The agency's sole representative is Caitlin A. Hall, who works at the Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Health Center, a facility on the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation. Besides Shores, two task force members are based in Oklahoma. One is Bo Leach, a citizen of Choctaw Nation who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Oklahoma City, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Shannon Bears Cozzoni works with Shores as a tribal liaison and assistant federal prosecutor. She formerly served as a prosecutor for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Shores, who also chairs the Native American Issues Subcommittee at the Department of Justice, has experience in dealing with child abuse in Indian Country. In an appearance before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in October 2017, he described how one young victim adopted the mannerisms of a horse because of the trauma she endured in her own home. "After months of intense work with our prosecution team and counselors, that same little girl —a nd two of her friends who had also been raped by her father — bravely testified in front of a jury and in front of her father," Shores told the committee. "He was found guilty and is now spending life in a federal penitentiary." "Members of the committee, there are many more cases like these — domestic violence, sexual assaults, child abuse — that require resources to be successfully investigated and prosecuted, and to help give a voice to victims," he added. The White House did not say exactly how long the task force would perform its work but one critic of the IHS welcomed the development. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) praised the Trump administration for "recognizing the need to correct the horrors that happened at Pine Ridge and elsewhere due to systemic failures" at the agency. "I look forward to continuing to work with the administration on this and other ways to improve the IHS," said Rounds, who has repeatedly introduced legislation to address "poor leadership and mismanagement" at the agency. Tribes in the Great Plains, a region that is home to some of the worst-performing facilities in the system, have supported his efforts.“This conduct is utterly unacceptable and it will not be tolerated at IHS,” Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says of recent conviction of @IHSgov pediatrician for abusing boys on the Blackfeet Nation. Trial pending for abuse at Pine Ridge. #ECWS19 @SecAzar pic.twitter.com/AFPB5Ibaxk
— indianz.com (@indianz) February 13, 2019
Thanks @realDonaldTrump for recognizing the need to correct the horrors that happened at Pine Ridge and elsewhere due to systemic failures of @IHSgov. I look forward to continuing to work with the administration on this and other ways to improve the IHS. https://t.co/XMQBiLIfvb
— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) March 26, 2019
Stanley Weber is a pedophile. For over two decades, he used his position as a pediatrician with the Indian Health Service to gain access to vulnerable prepubescent males, and subsequently committed terrible acts of sexual abuse upon his victims under the guise of providing them with “medical treatment.” While living and working on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Weber lured young juvenile males to his home by providing them with alcohol, pizza, soda, ice cream, video games, money, clothing, and overnight trips both on and off the reservation. Once isolated with these children, Weber seized his opportunity to act upon his deviant sexual desires by engaging in forced or coerced sexual activity with them. Weber leveraged his position within IHS and the communities where he worked and lived to gain the trust of many of his coworkers and supervisors, allowing him to survive multiple allegations and investigations into his suspicious behavior. Although the crimes at issue in this case occurred more than 20 years ago, Weber has never had to face the consequences of his actions. In fact, when questions were raised about his behavior, he simply moved to a new community where he continued his pattern of criminality. Meanwhile, his victims grew up, saddled with confusion, shame, and fear that they could not reveal what happened to them as children, lest they face further embarrassment and ridicule from members of their community. The impact of Weber’s crimes ultimately manifested in his victims in the form of legal problems, drug and alcohol abuse, the inability to maintain stead Even after his conviction, Weber continues to be unapologetic for his actions and shows no remorse for his victims or the harm he inflicted upon them. In fact, it is doubtful that he views his actions as criminal at all. His decades of predatory sexual abuse of children are among the most heinous and serious crimes cognizable by federal criminal law. At nearly 70 years of age, and with no sign of remorse, there is no reason to believe that Weber either recognizes the severity of his crimes or any realistic hope that he can ever be rehabilitated. Accordingly, justice demands that Weber face a severe sentence despite the age of his misconduct in this case.
Former IHS pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber also awaits trial in South Dakota for allegedly abusing boys on Pine Ridge Reservation. He was subject of @frontlinepbs + @WSJ expose "Predator on the Reservation" https://t.co/DzNxaCNIbf
— indianz.com (@indianz) February 13, 2019
VIDEO: Indian Health Service official discusses pediatrician convicted of abuse (March 6, 2019)
Mary Annette Pember: Media continues to tell Native stories without our input (February 25, 2019)
Sen. Mike Rounds: Indian Health Service fails its trust and treaty obligations (February 22, 2019)
Timeline: Leadership Crisis at the Indian Health Service (February 6, 2019)
Native Sun News Today: Former Indian Health Service doctor sentenced for abusing boys (January 24, 2019)
Native Sun News Today: Former Indian Health Service pediatrician awaits sentencing for abuse (December 26, 2018)
Native Sun News Today: 'Bad men' treaty provision invoked in abuse cases (December 18, 2018)
Former Indian Health Service executive indicted for accepting cash gift (July 13, 2017)
Native Sun News Today: Ex-Indian Health Service doctor charged for abuse of minor (March 16, 2017)