Red Lake Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Neglect Resulting in Death of Child

A Red Lake man has been sentenced to five years in prison followed by two years of supervised release for child neglect following the death of a child.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office says that according to court documents, 42-year-old Julius Fineday Sr. willfully deprived the child of necessary food, healthcare, and other basic needs, despite being reasonably able to make the necessary provisions. The neglect ultimately caused the death of the child.

Fineday pleaded guilty last March to one count of felony child neglect causing the death of a child. His co-defendant, Sharon Rosebear, was convicted of felony child neglect after a trial this past April and is awaiting sentencing.

Court documents say the child’s cause of death was determined to be the combined effects of malnutrition and a Group A Strep infection resulting from neglect.

In sentencing Fineday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz emphasized that Fineday neglected the child in “nearly every way” a caretaker can neglect a child. He noted the child was deprived of necessary nutrition, was kept from attending school where should have have been given meals, and was not taken to the doctor for three years, except for COVID-19 vaccinations for which the household received cash incentives.

Schiltz also highlighted that the starvation of the child was not due to a lack of resources or inadequate food in the house, but instead was from a lack of care, noting that the child was “not just thin, but skeletal” at the time of her death.