Navajo Man from Gallup Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Abuse Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Manuel Tsosie, 37, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Gallup, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a child sexual abuse charge.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Tsosie will be sentenced a term of incarceration not to exceed 33 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  Tsosie will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

Tsosie was arrested on June 3, 2014, on an indictment alleging the he sexually abused a child under the age of 12 years on a date between April 1, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2013.  The indictment alleged that Tsosie violated the young victim in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

During today’s hearing, Tsosie entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him abusive sexual contact.  In entering his guilty plea, Tsosie admitted that he intentionally touched the victim’s genitals at a residence located within Navajo Indian Reservation.

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elaine Y. Ramirez 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/.