Navajo Man Guilty of Sexually Abusing Minor

A disturbing case of child sex abuse has unfolded in New Mexico, where a 34-year-old Navajo man from Arizona has pleaded guilty to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact of a minor child.

Aaron Hubbard, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fort Defiance, Ariz., entered a guilty plea to an abusive sexual contact with a child charge in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on [date]. The crime took place on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M., from Sept. 1, 2011, through May 30, 2012.

According to court documents, Hubbard admitted to sexually molesting a Navajo child who was less than 12 years old during the specified period. The child was victimized within the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Hubbard has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on Feb. 25, 2015, and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hubbard will be sentenced to ten years in prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.

Hubbard will also be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to 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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