Shiprock Man Charged with Four Alleged Sexual Assaults

ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock man has been indicted in connection with four alleged sexual assaults that occurred over a two-year period.

According to court documents, on four occasions between May 2018, and May 2020, Pierson Manycattle, 28, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in sex acts with a minor. 

Manycattle is charged with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact and will remain on conditions of release pending trial which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Manycattle faces up to life in prison. 

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case. 

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.