Navajo Man from McKinley County Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Ronald George, 47, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Vanderwagon, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an abusive sexual contact charge.  George entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends that he be sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the range of 78 to 97 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  George will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

George was arrested on April 18, 2017, on an indictment charging him with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 years between Feb. 4, 2014 and Sept. 21, 2015, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, George pled guilty to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact.  In entering the guilty plea, George admitted that between Feb. 4, 2014 and Sept. 21, 2015, he engaged in sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 years while on the Navajo Indian Reservation.  George remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.   

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall 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, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.