A jury on Tuesday convicted former Ute Mountain Ute councilman Lyndreth Wall on 15 of 20 counts of sexual assault and abusive sexual contact after he allegedly used his reputation as a spiritual healer to abuse multiple women.
The verdict in U.S. District Court in Durango concluded a weeks-long trial.
Jurors found Wall guilty on the first eight counts involving a woman who testified that he assaulted her as a child and teen, as well as a second woman’s testimony about incidents in Wall’s home.
He was acquitted on five counts tied to the second woman’s allegations of incidents after a night at a bar and at his father’s trailer.
Jurors also returned guilty verdicts on charges involving three other women who said Wall used spiritual ceremonies to facilitate the assaults.
In all, jurors convicted Wall on five counts of sexual abuse, two counts of abusive sexual contact involving women incapable of appraising the conduct, and eight counts of sexual contact without permission. He was acquitted on counts nine through 13.
The verdict followed hours of technical legal instructions from U.S. District Judge Gordon Gallagher, who explained that prosecutors had to prove not only the abusive act or contact, but also that Wall acted “knowingly.” They had to show that the women were either incapable of understanding the conduct or had not given permission. Prosecutors also had to show each offense occurred within the boundaries of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation and that Wall is a registered Native American.
Jurors deliberated for about four hours under a requirement to reach unanimous agreement on each of the 20 counts.
Gallagher thanked the jurors for their service during the trial’s 12 days and stated that it had been his longest trial on the federal bench so far and possibly the longest in the district this year.
Wall, who did not testify, was taken into custody following the verdict. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Wall was serving a third term as Ute Mountain Ute councilman when indicted January 2024, and he previously served as a member of the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 Board of Education.
With the lawyers’ closing arguments completed early afternoon Tuesday, the 12-member jury held Wall’s fate as they began to deliberate. Their job required analyzing a multi-pronged legal structure laid out within pages and pages of jury instructions to the testimonies heard over the past several weeks.
During the reading of the instructions, comprehensive legal framework provided jurors with guidance on their decision-making.
“I remind you it is your job to decide whether the government has proven Mr. Wall guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. You are the sole judges of the credibility of each witnesses and the weight given to each testimony,” the judge told them.
He reminded them that over the past 12 days of court: Lawyers’ statements, objections and questions are not evidence, rumors or information from outside the courtroom cannot be considered. Jurors may rely on their light of experience to draw reasonable inferences from the evidence.
“Was the witness honest? Did the witness seem to have a good memory? What kind of relationship did the witness have with the government or the defense? Did the witness have a stake in the outcome of the trial,” the judge continued, reading the instructions.
Gallagher stressed that Wall’s choice not to testify cannot be held against him.
Wall’s trial unfolded with nearly two weeks of emotional testimony and legal battles in a Durango courtroom. Opposing counsels pinned very different frames on the case. Either it was a pattern of the abuse under the guise of healing ceremonies or a collapsable story built on lies, collusion and an incompetent FBI investigation.
Starting Oct. 28, woman began testifying for the prosecution’s case. Six testified saying ceremonies meant to clear negative energy became acts of abuse from a trusted healer and leader in the tight-knit community of Towaoc, 10 miles south of Cortez.
One woman testified she was 13 when Wall abused her. Another described a hotel-room assault she thought would be a post-divorce blessing. Others recounted groping and abuse in a trailer and during repeated “healing” sessions for what they believed to be alcoholism or depression treatments.
One woman, related to or closely acquainted with three other women, said she later struggled with guilt because “I am the one who said he was a good person,” she testified.
During a final rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Graves argued Wall’s cultural credibility and leadership in the community made him capable of concocting “trickery.”
“This case is about power,” he said during the rebuttal Tuesday.“Lyndreth Wall knew what he was doing. Spiritual power and political power. Coal and food. Once-in-a-lifetime trips. The power to say ‘Take off your pants,’ and be obeyed. In a variety of social settings, power is associated with perception and sexual exceptions.”
Federal prosecutors also called two experts nearing the end of presenting their case.
One legal scholar explained why victims may not immediately report sexual abuse, may continue contacting an alleged abuser, or struggle remembering details of traumatic events. A Southern Ute spiritual leader took the stand to explain how he conducted ceremonies. In closings, prosecutors argued several details from the women corroborated a pattern.
“He defendant exploited these women under his own ruse, he befriended people in his community and treated them like family,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Player said. “He abused their trust, just like he abused them.
On the other hand, the defense, led by federal public defenders Laura Suelau and Summer Woods, maintained Wall’s innocence and argued the case rests on uncorroborated, evolving statements rather than forensic evidence.
“Mr. Wall is stable, speaks truth to the power. And wanting to confide in someone does not make it an abuse of power,” Suelau said during closing statements.
They highlighted delays in reporting from the women and alleged inconsistencies between courtroom testimony and prior interviews.
They pointed to ongoing friendly contact between Wall and one accuser, including a trip to Wyoming and smiling photos on a parade float. They have suggested some relationships were consensual affairs and that tribal politics and personal grievances, not criminal conduct, drove the accusations.
“The stories the women told were unbelievable, uncorroborated, and untrue,” Suelau said. “I really want to touch on how deficient and backward this investigation was. There is so much evidence even a year later that would demonstrate Mr. Wall’s innocence.”
She added: “A failure to investigate is not guilty. It is truly terrifying to think this is how the United States Attorney’s Office thinks you investigate a case.”
Suelau argued that after four women reported allegations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2017, the case went nowhere, and the FBI must have “took Mr. Wall at his word, because no charges were filed.”
For hours, the defense team cross-examined each and every government witness, including how the lead FBI investigator handled the case. They began calling witnesses to the stand Nov. 6, including Ute Mountain Ute officials, who served with Wall, to question them. They presented their own expert, who testified people often signal consent or non-consent through indirect, nonverbal cues – adding that individual memories can be reshaped over time.
Wall’s ex-wife, Cara Wall, testified she was married to Wall for 20 years, described him as outspoken and “blackballed” by tribal leadership.
She said his election to tribal council strained their marriage and denied that money was her motive to testify in his favor, even as prosecutors pointed to recorded jail calls in which Wall allegedly urged her “not to say a word” about the case.
