A 53-year-old man from Fruitland, N.M., has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his conviction on a federal rape charge.
Melvin Russell, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced to 235 months in prison for his conviction on an aggravated sexual abuse charge, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque.
Russell will be on supervised release for 10 years after completing his prison sentence, and will be required to register as a sex offender.
The FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety arrested Russell in July 2014 on a criminal complaint charging him with sexually abusing a Navajo woman on May 20, 2014, on the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, N.M.
Russell was subsequently indicted on July 24, 2014, and was charged with aggravated sexual abuse. A jury found him guilty of the crime in May 2018.
The victim testified at trial that Russell forced her to engage in sexual intercourse with him by threatening her with a large samurai sword.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the victim, a friend, and the friend’s child were at Russell’s residence on the evening of May 19, 2014, where Russell, the victim, and the victim’s friend consumed alcohol. After the friend and the child went to sleep, Russell became sexually aggressive towards the victim, grabbing her around the neck and choking her.
The victim testified that Russell then pulled out a large samurai-type sword and threatened to kill her if she did not submit to him. She testified that Russell sexually abused her while continuing to strike and choke her.
The victim, the friend, and the child left Russell’s residence the next morning and contacted police, seeking medical care for the victim’s injuries and trauma.
The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Joseph M. Spindle and Elisa Dimas prosecuted the case as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico.
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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