A man was sentenced on April 3 to 28 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman on the grounds of Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis in 2023, according to U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark.
The case highlights the Justice Department’s role as the principal federal agency for law enforcement, with operations throughout the United States and internationally, according to its official website. The department focuses on upholding the rule of law, ensuring national safety and safeguarding civil rights according to its official website.
Judge Clark ordered that Monte Derrell Boatman, age 37 and from Fairview Heights, Illinois, serve his sentence consecutively to an existing term of 84 months he is currently serving for violating supervised release in a previous armed robbery case. Court records show that Boatman followed his victim from a MetroLink station before grabbing her from behind near Washington Avenue and forcing her into bushes at knifepoint where he assaulted her.
Boatman was arrested two days after the incident by National Park Service rangers following a struggle during which one ranger required medical treatment. He pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one felony count of aggravated sexual abuse.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said during sentencing that Boatman’s crime followed a “largely unabated history of criminality since the age of 13.” His criminal record includes participation in a robbery case from 2009 that involved a vehicle chase and gun battle across state lines; he was previously sentenced to over fourteen years in prison for that offense.
The Justice Department includes more than 115,000 employees operating across all states and over fifty countries according to its official website. Merrick Garland has led the department as Attorney General since March 11, 2021 according to its official website, overseeing major prosecutions such as those related to the Oklahoma City bombing as per its official site.
