Kewa Pueblo Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Child Sexual Abuse Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Tenorio, 50, an enrolled member and resident of Kewa Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 63 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on child sexual abuse charges.  Tenorio will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Tenorio was arrested on March 21, 2017, on a seven-count indictment charging him with kidnapping and abusive sexual contact offenses.  The indictment charged Tenorio with kidnapping a child under the age of 18 (first victim) on May 18, 2016; engaging in abusive sexual contact with the first victim, who was then under the age of 12, two separate times between Jan. 1, 2015 and Jan 31, 2015, and three separate times on May 18, 2016.  It also charged Tenorio with engaging in abusive sexual contact with a child between the age of 12 and 16 (second victim), two separate times between Aug. 23, 2006 and Aug. 22, 2007.  According to the indictment, Tenorio committed the crimes on Kewa Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M.

On May 11, 2018, Tenorio pled guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact.  In entering the guilty plea, Tenorio admitted that on May 18, 2016, he engaged in sexual contact with the first victim, who was then under the age of 12.  Tenorio also admitted engaging in sexual contact with the second victim, who was then 13 years old, between Aug. 23, 2006 and Aug. 22, 2007.  Tenorio previously pled guilty to the same charges in tribal court. 

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall prosecuted the case 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/.