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Press Release

Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Leonard Yazzie, 41, of Pine Hill, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pled guilty in federal court today to abusive sexual contact. Yazzie will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

A federal grand jury indicted Yazzie on March 23, 2022. According to court documents, on March 28, 2016, and March 27, 2017, Yazzie engaged in a sexual act with a victim, a child who had not attained the age of 12 years.

At sentencing, Yazzie faces 6 and a half years in prison.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Ramah Navajo Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

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23-157

Updated July 20, 2023

Topic
Indian Country Law and Justice
Press Release Number: 23-157