PHOENIX, AZ—On March 4, 2019, Fydel Jones, 53, of Supai, Arizona, was sentenced to time served plus lifetime supervised release with sex offender conditions, sex offender registration, and conditions preventing him from conducting sweat lodge ceremonies with individuals who are not Native American. Jones previously pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact, a class E felony offense.

In May 2017, a Canadian tourist and her friends, visiting Havasupai for a wedding ceremony, were approached by Jones who offered to perform a sweat lodge ceremony for the wedding party. Jones performed two separate ceremonies for the various members in the wedding party in a small mud hut. During the ceremonies, Jones sexually assaulted the victim and made sexual contact with another female in the party.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The prosecution was handled by Alex Samuels, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for Arizona at http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/ or on PACER https://www.pacer.gov/