Non-Indian Man from Isleta Pueblo Sentenced to Prison for Federal Child Sexual Abuse Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Gabriel Chavez, 32, a non-Indian residing in Isleta Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 30 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release.  Chavez was also ordered to pay $1,050.00 in restitution.  Chavez will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

 Chavez was arrested on July 29, 2014, on a five-count indictment alleging that he sexually abused two Indian children between Aug. 2012 and July 2013, in Isleta Pueblo in Bernalillo County, N.M.   Counts 1 through 3 charged Chavez with abusive sexual contact involving a child victim between the age of 12 and 16 years.  Counts 4 and 5 charged Chavez with abusive sexual contact involving a second child victim under the age of 12 years.

On Jan. 28, 2015, Chavez entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact involving a child victim between the age of 12 and 16 years.  Chavez admitted engaging in sexual contact with the child victim which included touching the victim’s genitals and other parts of her body.

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson 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/.