Tohono O’odham Man Sentenced to Serve 40 Years for Sexual Assault of 5-Year-Old Boy

TUCSON, AZ—U.S. District Court Judge Marvin E. Aspen sentenced Christopher Bryan Garcia on Thursday to 40 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor. Garcia, a 23-year-old member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, was convicted by a jury of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor on June 23, 2010, following a trial. He will be placed on lifetime supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender upon completion of his prison sentence.

The victim, a 5-year-old boy, testified that the defendant sexually assaulted him while the defendant was staying overnight at the victim’s family’s home. A medical examination revealed that the victim suffered injuries consistent with the sexual assault he reported, and DNA testing confirmed that the defendant had committed the assault. Evidence was presented at sentencing that the defendant had previously sexually abused the victim’s siblings as well.

The investigation leading to the conviction was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tohono O’odham Police Department, with assistance from the Arizona Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory. The prosecution was handled by Angela Woolridge, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona,Tucson.

CASE NUMBER: CR-09-0386-TUC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2011-048(Garcia)