Shiprock Man Arraigned on Child Sex Abuse Charge

ALBUQUERQUE—On February 13, 2012, in federal court in Albuquerque, Samuel Jackson, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was arraigned on an indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age. If convicted of this offense, Jackson faces a maximum penalty of not less than 30 years and up to life imprisonment.

Jackson entered a not guilty plea during the proceedings. Jackson has been in federal custody since his arrest on January 24, 2012, and remains detained pending trial.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Jackson is charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old Navajo girl in a residence in Shiprock on August 5, 2011. At the time of the offense alleged in the indictment and until his arrest in January 2012, Jackson was employed as a back-up bus driver at Shiprock division of the Central Consolidated School District No. 22.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, Shiprock Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presliano Torrez.