Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ALBUQUERQUE – 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 Pedro Lee Benally was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Benally, 23, of Moab, Utah, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pled guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact on Nov. 2, 2023.
According to publicly available court documents, between April 1, 2022, and November 29, 2022, Benally engaged in sexual contact with Jane Doe, a child who had not attained the age of 12 years, on multiple occasions. The incidents occurred at Jane Doe’s grandmother’s house in Shiprock and Benally told Jane Doe not to tell anyone about his abusive conduct.
Upon his release from prison, Benally will be subject to 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender upon his release.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Department of Investigation and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.
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