Login

Dilkon woman sentenced to 51 months for child abuse

Print

PHOENIX – A woman was recently sentenced to 51 months in prison after she allegedly threw a child from a moving vehicle.

Melody Gwen Nez, 32, of Dilkon, Ariz., was sentenced on Nov. 21 by United States District Judge Dominic W. Lanza to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Nez previously pleaded guilty to Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.

For at least several weeks in the summer of 2021, Nez allegedly abused a five-year-old child in her care. The abuse culminated in an Aug. 19, 2021, incident in which Nez reportedly threw the child from a moving vehicle, seriously injuring the child. The abuse occurred on the Navajo Nation, where Nez is an enrolled member.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alanna Kennedy and Alexander Samuels, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

Staff Reports