Navajo Man from Chichilta Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sex Abuse Charge

ALBUQUERQUE—Timothy Ignacio Duboise, 28, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Chichilta, New Mexico, pled guilty this morning to an aggravated child sexual abuse charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to the criminal complaint, the FBI initiated a criminal investigation into Duboise after the Navajo Division of Social Service reported an allegation of child sexual assault. Duboise was arrested on July 30, 2012, and has been in federal custody since that time.

During this morning’s plea hearing, Duboise admitted that, between July 15, 2011 and August 15, 2011, he sexually assaulted a Navajo child by touching the child’s genitals. Duboise further admitted that the sexual assault occurred on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Duboise will be sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by a minimum five-year term of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender. Duboise’s sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI, with assistance from the Navajo Division of Social Services, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.