Shiprock Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Sexual Abuse Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Jack Belin, Jr., 59, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his abusive sexual contact conviction.  Belin will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Belin was arrested in Oct. 2012, based on an indictment charging him with two counts of abusive sexual contact.  According to the indictment, Belin committed the offenses on July 18, 2012, in Indian Country (the Navajo Indian Reservation) in San Juan County, N.M.

On Feb. 6, 2013, Belin entered a guilty plea to Count 2 of the indictment.  In his plea agreement, Belin admitted that on July 18, 2012, he intentionally and inappropriately touched the victim without the victim’s consent.  Belin was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after entering his guilty plea.

This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson.