Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ALBUQUERQUE – A Dulce woman has been charged with aggravated sexual abuse and abandonment of a child after an FBI investigation revealed allegations that she repeatedly sexually and physically abused minors over several years.
According to court documents, the investigation began on April 4, 2025, when the Jicarilla Apache Police Department alerted the FBI that a minor disclosed to their father that Lory Muniz-a police officer with the Jicarilla Apache Nation-had sexually assaulted them repeatedly from the age of 7 to 11. Further investigation revealed that Muniz had previously been charged with child abuse in 2023 in Jicarilla Apache Tribal Court and had not been permitted to see the minors since that incident. She returned to duty as a police officer on March 31, 2025.
On April 14, 2025, a second victim reported during a forensic interview that they suffered physical abuse from Muniz from ages 5 to 16, including a severe incident at age 5 that resulted in a broken arm. A witness corroborated the accounts of abuse against both victims and described additional incidents of physical and sexual abuse.
Munizis charged with aggravated sexual abuse and abandonment of a child and will remain in third party custody pending trial, which has not been set. If convicted of the current charges, Munizfaces up to life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Jicarilla Apache Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eliot Neal is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.