PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, the grim halls of justice were once again echoing with the sound of betrayal as Verdell Yazzie, 31, from the desolate town of Tes Nez Iah in Arizona, was sentenced to a fate that will eternally brand him a criminal.
United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi meted out a severe sentence of 120 months behind bars for Yazzie’s heinous crime: Sexual Abuse of a Minor. This wasn’t just any minor; it was an innocent child, a mere 12 years old, who fell victim to Yazzie’s predatory advances.
The horror unfolded on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, where Yazzie is an enrolled tribal member. He admitted that between 2011 and 2012, he engaged in a sexual act with this young child, a crime that desecrated the sanctity of innocence on sacred ground.
Yazzie’s sentence was not just a slap on the wrist; it was a lifetime term of supervised release to follow. This is no mere slapstick justice but a solemn declaration that such acts have dire consequences.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Division of Public Safety were instrumental in unraveling this sordid tale, conducting the investigation with unwavering determination. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Chang and Sharon Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution with a fervor that matched the gravity of the case.
CASE NUMBER: CR-20-08102-PCT-MTL RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-013_Yazzie
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Key Facts
- State: Arizona
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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