Wade Platero, Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child, New Mexico 2021

A 26-year-old man from Arizona has been indicted for the aggravated sexual abuse of a child on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico.

Wade Platero, of Red Valley, Arizona, was arraigned on an indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Indian Country, announced Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office.

According to the indictment and other court records, on December 28, 2021, Platero allegedly used force to engage in a sexual act with a child, identified as Jane Doe. The alleged assault occurred in Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation.

An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Platero faces a minimum of 30 years and up to life in prison.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Flores is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Platero will be released to a halfway house once space is available and will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled. The case is part of the FBI’s ongoing efforts to protect children from 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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