Acoma Pueblo man pleads guilty to failure to update sex offender registration

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Eric Chino, 39, of Albuquerque, and an enrolled member of the Acoma Pueblo, pleaded guilty today in federal court to failing to update his registration as a sex offender. Chino will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

A federal grand jury indicted Chino on April 14, 2021. According to the plea agreement and other court records, Chino pleaded guilty on March 12, 2015, to sexually assaulting an Acoma Pueblo woman on June 24, 2012, on the Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, New Mexico. On June 17, 2015, Chino was sentenced to three years in prison. His sentence also required him to register as a sex offender.

In his plea agreement today, Chino acknowledged that he was aware of the requirement to register as a sex offender. Chino admitted that from Oct. 26, 2019, through Jan. 5, 2021, he failed to update his registration as required by law.

By the terms of the plea agreement, Chino faces 15 months in prison.

The United States Marshals Service investigated this case with assistance from U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services. Special Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea N. Van Deventer is prosecuting the case.

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