Shiprock Man Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Federal Aggravated Child Sexual Abuse Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Today, in federal court in Santa Fe, Michael Crosby, 54, was sentenced to a 150-month term of imprisonment for his aggravated sexual abuse conviction. Crosby, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, New Mexico, will be on supervised release for 10 years after he completes his prison sentence, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Crosby was arrested on February 8, 2011 on a criminal complaint, and subsequently was indicted on March 9, 2011 in a three-count indictment charging him with committing the following offenses on the Navajo Indian Reservation: (1) abusive sexual contact of a child under the age of 12 years in November 2007; (2) aggravated sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16 years between September 18, 2008 and September 2009; and (3) raping a child under the age of 16 years between September 18, 2008 and September 2009.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that, on June 16, 2011, Crosby entered a guilty plea to an information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse. In entering his plea, Crosby admitted to sexually molesting a child under the age of 16 years by touching her genitalia at their home on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Crosby was remanded into federal custody after he entered his guilty plea and has been in custody since that time.

Pursuant to the terms of Crosby’s plea agreement, the indictment was dismissed after Crosby was sentenced.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, Shiprock Division, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Rozzoni.