Former Mille Lacs Band Police Chief, Sheriff’s Deputy Convicted for Sexual Assault of Child

Russell James Bankey (Source: LinkedIn)

A man who previously served as a Mille Lacs Band police chief and also as a Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Deputy has been found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually assaulting a child.

75-year-old Russell James Bankey was convicted last week on charges that resulted after a woman told authorities Bankey sexually assaulted her for several years beginning in approximately 2009, when she was 7 or 8.

According to his bio on his LinkedIn page, Bankey served as the chief law enforcement officer for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe from June 1987 to October 1996. He also worked more recently as a deputy sheriff for Mille Lacs County beginning in 2016.

Bankey is also charged in a separate case with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under the age of 13. Accusations in that case date back to 1991. Bankey has not entered a plea yet on that charge.