FEDERAL JURY FINDS CARRIZO MAN GUILTY OF 23 COUNTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

            PHOENIX – On November 20, 2012, a federal jury in Prescott, Ariz., found Jefferson Gatewood, 44, of Carrizo, Ariz., guilty of all 23 counts of a superseding indictment, most of which involved aggravated sexual abuse of minors. The trial before U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg began on Nov. 7, 2012, and continued through Nov. 20, 2012. Gatewood has been detained pending sentencing, which is set before Judge Teilborg on February 19, 2013.

            The evidence at trial showed that Gatewood sexually abused 15 victims, some as young as six-years-old, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation over a span of 30 years.

            A conviction for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor carries a minimum penalty of 30 years to life in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

            The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The government prosecutors who tried the case were Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dimitra Sampson and Sharon Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:                   CR-11-8074-PCT-JAT
RELEASE NUMBER:            2011-224(Gatewood)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az