Crownpoint man sentenced to eight years in prison for abusive sexual contact of a minor in Indian Country

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Emerson Pinto, 58, of Crownpoint, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on Dec. 29 in federal court to eight years and one month in prison based on convictions for two counts of abusive sexual contact of a minor in Indian Country.

Pinto pleaded guilty on Aug. 11. In his plea agreement, he admitted that between Sept. 1, 2009, and Oct. 31, 2009, he knowingly engaged in unlawful sexual contact with two young victims, both of whom were under the age of 12 at the time of the offenses. Pinto admitted to touching the girls for sexual gratification during a visit to the victims’ home on the Navajo Nation in McKinley County, New Mexico.

Upon his release from prison, Pinto will be subject to five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson prosecuted the case.

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