Laguna Pueblo Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Child Sex Abuse Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Jason Mooney, 36, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, was sentenced this morning to ten years in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his aggravated sexual abuse conviction.  Mooney will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence. 

Mooney’s guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and Chief Michelle F. Ray of the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department.

Mooney was arrested in June 2008, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a child between the age of 12 and 16 years.  In July 2008, Mooney was indicted on aggravated sexual abuse charges.  Proceedings in the case were delayed by competency proceedings.  Mooney has been in federal custody since his arrest. 

On July 24, 2013, Mooney entered a guilty plea to an aggravated sexual abuse charge.  In his plea agreement, Mooney admitted that he sexually abused a minor child on a date between July 2003 and July 2004.  He further admitted that his unlawful conduct occurred on Laguna Pueblo. 

This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard. 

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.