Gary Sidney Vicenti, Aggravated Child Sexual Abuse, New Mexico 2012

Grimy Times Investigates: Gary Sidney Vicenti, a 53-year-old member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, pleaded guilty to aggravated child sexual abuse in a federal court in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vicenti’s guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Police Chief Kendall P. Vicenti of the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department.

Vicenti was arrested in November 2012 after a criminal complaint was filed alleging that he sexually abused a child under the age of 12 in June 2011 on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. During the hearing, Vicenti entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse and admitted to sexually abusing the victim by touching the victim’s genitals.

The crime occurred on June 1, 2011, in the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. Vicenti will be sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Vicenti was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after entering his guilty plea. He will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The guilty plea marks a significant victory for law enforcement and the community in the fight against child sexual abuse. Project Safe Childhood aims to marshal federal, state, and local resources to better 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, visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

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