Justin Chee, Statutory Rape, New Mexico 2012

In a shocking turn of events, Justin Chee, a 24-year-old resident of Kirtland, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to a federal statutory rape charge in a New Mexico court.

According to the indictment, Chee, a member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in a sexual act with a 14-year-old Jicarilla Apache child on August 30, 2012. The victim was between the ages of 12 and 16 years old at the time of the incident, which took place on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Chee has been in federal custody since his arrest in March 2014 and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

Chee will also be required to register as a sex offender. The case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety with assistance from the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and the San Juan Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. government to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood marshals 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, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

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