Red Lake man sentenced to 5 years for child neglect that led to the death of a girl

A man from the Red Lake Indian Reservation has been sentenced for his role in child neglect that led to the death of a girl.

On Tuesday, Julius Fineday Sr., 42, was sentenced by Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz to five years in prison followed by two years of supervised release.

In March, Fineday pleaded guilty to one count of felony child neglect causing the death of a child. Sharon Rosebear was also convicted of felony child neglect following a jury trial in April and is awaiting sentencing.

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According to court records, between Jan. 1 and Dec. 25, 2022, Fineday deprived a child of necessary food, health care and other basic needs. The child’s death was determined to be a combination of malnutrition and Group A strep.

Fineday neglected the child in “nearly every way,” according to Schiltz, as he deprived her of necessary nutrition, failed to take care of her head lice and kept her from attending school.

He also didn’t take the child to the doctor for three years other than for COVID-19 vaccinations, for which the household received cash incentives, as noted in court documents.

Schiltz also stated the starvation of the child was not due to a lack of resources but rather a lack of care, noting that the child was “not just thin, but skeletal” at the time of her death.