SANTA FE – A New Mexico jury on Friday convicted a Native American activist of rape and voyeurism, but acquitted him of kidnapping – the most serious charge against him.
Santa Fe jurors deliberated for less than four hours before announcing their verdict against Redwolf Pope.
Prosecutors had accused Pope of raping a woman in a Santa Fe hotel in 2017 and recording the act.
Pope is an activist who has been described as having assisted elders and others during 2016 pipeline protests at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota.
The woman Pope was convicted of raping had asked him to give her a ride home from a party, according to evidence presented at trial.
Pope could have been sentenced up to 18 years for kidnapping, a first degree felony. The third-degree felony rape charge and the misdemeanor voyeurism together carry a combined maximum penalty of four years in prison.
The public defender representing Pope said his client was not guilty of kidnapping because the woman willingly got into his vehicle.
