Taos man sentenced to two years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Elliott Romancito was sentenced to two years in prison. Romancito, 28, of Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo, pleaded guilty on Nov. 3, 2021, to sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country.

According to the plea agreement and other court records, in the early morning hours of Oct. 1, 2018, Romancito and the victim, identified as Jane Doe, left a party together. Rather than driving Jane Doe home, Romancito drove her to another location on the Taos Pueblo and had sex with her. Jane Doe, an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo, was 15 years old at the time of the abuse.

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

The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Elisa Dimas and David Cowen prosecuted the case 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/.

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