Navajo Man Sentenced to 204 Months in Prison for Sexual Assault of a Minor at the Boys and Girls Club
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 18, 2014 |
PHOENIX—On February 18, 2014, Ty Colin Bia, 22, of Many Farms, Arizona, a member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow to 204 months in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Bia is also required to register as a sex offender in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
In January 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received a report that a Navajo man had been texting inappropriate messages to a minor. Through further investigation, agents determined that Bia, a staff member at the Boys and Girls Club, had sexually assaulted a juvenile female while she was under his care on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. Bia pled guilty on November 13, 2013, to abusive sexual contact.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gallup Resident Office. The prosecution was handled by Melissa B. Karlen, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.