Santo Domingo Man Charged with Sexual Abuse of Minor, Receipt of Child Pornography

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office,  announced today that Jordian Pacheco was arraigned on an indictment charging him with sexual abuse of a minor and receipt of child pornography. Pacheco, 32, of Santo Domingo Pueblo, and an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

A federal grand jury indicted Pacheco on May 24. According to the indictment and other court records, on Jan. 10, 2021, officers from the Navajo Police Department (NPD) responded to a call from a woman reporting that a man was hiding in the closet of her minor daughter, identified in court records as Jane Doe. When officers arrived at the residence, they located Pacheco. He provided officers with the name “Scott Nieto” and told them he was 18-years old and his mother had dropped him off at Jane Doe’s home. Pacheco was detained and transported to Window Rock Adult Detention Center.

NPD officers located an unknown vehicle outside Jane Doe’s residence and towed it. When they ran the plates, it came back as belonging to Pacheco. Officers spoke to Pacheco again who confirmed that he had given them false identification. Pacheco told NPD officers that he had met Jane Doe on Tik Tok a year before and that he knew she was a minor. During the interview Pacheco claimed to have lost his phone. Upon his release from Window Rock Adult Detention Center on Jan. 11, 2021, Pacheco gained access to his vehicle to retrieve his cellphone, however NPD intercepted him and seized his phone and 8 other devices located in the vehicle. NPS obtained a search warrant for the devices and extracted information which included sexually explicit conversations with and photos of Jane Doe, as well as other minors. Based on the evidence, the FBI expanded their search for additional minor victims of Pacheco who he contacted through social media between 2014 and 2018.

An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Pacheco faces up to 20 years in prison.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

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