Tes Nez Iah Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, Verdell Yazzie, 31, of Tes Nez Iah, Arizona, was sentenced by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 120 months in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Yazzie pleaded guilty to one count of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. 

Yazzie admitted that sometime between 2011 and 2012, he knowingly engaged in a sexual act with a 12-year-old minor. The sexual abuse took place on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation where Yazzie is an enrolled tribal member.   

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Division of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Chang and Sharon Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-20-08102-PCT-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-013_Yazzie

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.