A man from Pinehaven, New Mexico has been sentenced to six years in prison for crimes he committed in 2016.
According to court documents, on April 30, 2021, following a report from school personnel, a victim told the Farmington Police Department during a forensic interview that Leonard Yazzie had sexually abused her during the summer of 2016. The victim reported three separate incidents over the summer. When 41-year-old Yazzie, who is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was interviewed by law enforcement on July 30, 2021, he admitted to touching the victim when she was seven years old.
lexander 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 Oct. 12 that Yazzie was sentenced to 78 months in prison. Yazzie pled guilty in federal court to abusive sexual contact on July 7.
Upon his release from prison, Yazzie will be subject to five 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 Ramah Navajo Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.
