Acoma Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Statutory Rape Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Mykal Concho, 23, an enrolled member and resident of Acoma Pueblo, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a statutory rape charge.  Concho entered the guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement. 

Concho was arrested on May 23, 2017, on an indictment charging him with sexually abusing a minor between 12 and 16 years of age.  According to the indictment, Concho committed the crime between Nov. 24, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2014, on the Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Concho pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.  At sentencing, Concho faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.  He will also be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa Dimas is prosecuting the case pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.