Navajo Man from Colorado Sentenced for Federal Child Abuse Conviction in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Staffred Kai Begay, 42, of Durango, Colo., was sentenced today to time served, 216 days in federal prison, followed by a year of supervised release for his federal child abuse conviction.  He also was ordered to pay $256.11 in restitution to cover medical expenses for the victim.

Begay was arrested on Aug. 12, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with child abuse.  According to the criminal complaint, on Aug. 7, 2014, a Navajo Indian juvenile (victim) called the authorities to report that Begay was assaulting his mother at a residence located on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.  Officers of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety responded to the call, but found no one at the residence.  The officers responded to a second call in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2014, and learned that Begay struck the victim with an axe and broke the victim’s arm.

 On Dec. 15, 2014, Begay pled guilty to an indictment charging him with abuse of a child resulting in serious bodily injury.  In entering the guilty plea, Begay admitted that on Aug. 7, 2014, he put a child in a situation that endangered the child’s life and resulted in serious bodily injury to the child.

This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Farmington office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.