Peter Calvert-Cata, Sexual Abuse, New Mexico 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A 21-year-old man from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, N.M., has pleaded guilty to a federal sexual abuse charge, the Grimy Times has learned.

Peter Calvert-Cata, 21, was arrested on Nov. 18, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with aggravated sexual abuse.

According to the criminal complaint, Calvert-Cata sexually assaulted a 17-year-old female on Aug. 13, 2016, in Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. At the time of the sexual assault, the victim, a member of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, was fading in and out of consciousness because she was intoxicated by alcohol and marijuana.

Calvert-Cata subsequently was indicted on Dec. 7, 2016, and charged with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse.

During a change of plea hearing in federal court in Albuquerque, Calvert-Cata entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with sexual assault.

In his plea agreement, Calvert-Cata admitted that he attempted to engage in a sexual act with the victim on Aug. 13, 2016, at a time when she was highly intoxicated by alcohol and marijuana. Calvert-Cata also acknowledged providing the marijuana consumed by the victim.

As part of his plea agreement, Calvert-Cata will be sentenced to four years of imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the Court. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI, the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, the Ohkay Owingeh Tribal Police Department, and the New Mexico State Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy H. Solimon is prosecuting the case as part of 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.

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