A man named Brandon Yazzie has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for abusive sexual contact.
According to court records, the FBI received a referral from the City of Avondale Police Department from Avondale, Ariz. Sept. 22, 2021. The referral documented the sexual assault of a minor who was under 12 years old at the time. The referral claimed that 30-year-old Yazzie, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, reportedly assaulted the young girl on multiple occasions between December 2020 and January 2021 at Yazzie’s residence in Standing Rock, N.M. Specifically, Yazzie engaged in sexual contact with the victim and afterward, told her “this never happened” with the intent that his acts would remain secret.
Alexander M.M. Uballez, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced Oct. 3 that Yazzie was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Yazzie pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact May 25.
Upon his release from prison, Yazzie will be subject to 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Avondale Police Department, Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander F. Flores is prosecuting the case.
