Myron Jim Harry, Rape, New Mexico 2013

ALBUQUERQUE – Myron Jim Harry, a 27-year-old man from Hogback, N.M., was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his rape conviction on May 9, 2023, and was arrested in May 2010, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a Navajo woman in Shiprock, N.M., on May 6, 2010.

The evidence at trial established that, on the night of May 5, 2010, Harry and several others celebrated the victim’s birthday in a Shiprock apartment. Early the next morning, while the victim was asleep next to another woman in a bedroom in the apartment, Harry entered the bedroom and the victim awoke to find Harry raping her. The other woman, who awoke to find Harry raping the victim while the victim was asleep, yelled at Harry to get off of the victim and threw him out of the apartment. Other witnesses in the apartment testified that the victim was in a state of shock and crying after being violated by Harry.

The victim was examined at a medical facility where a sexual assault evidence kit was used to preserve evidence. The examination revealed that the victim sustained physical injuries to her vaginal area and DNA analysis revealed that Harry’s semen was found on the victim. Harry testified in his own defense and claimed that he had been seduced by the victim and that the intercourse was consensual.

Harry will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Adams.

The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.

Myron Jim Harry, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was convicted of rape, a federal crime. The sentencing, which took place on May 9, 2023, marked the culmination of a long and complex case that had its roots in a 2010 incident in which Harry allegedly raped a Navajo woman in Shiprock, N.M.

The incident occurred on May 6, 2010, and was reported to the authorities shortly thereafter. Harry was arrested in May 2010 and subsequently indicted on a charge of rape. The trial, which took place in 2013, resulted in Harry’s conviction on the charge. He was subsequently sentenced to 151 months in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release.

According to the complaint, Harry committed the offense while the victim could not communicate her unwillingness to participate in the sexual act. The evidence at trial established that Harry had raped the victim, and that the victim had sustained physical injuries as a result of the assault.

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