ALBUQUERQUE - Javin Keith Reano, 22, a member and resident of Kewa Pueblo, pleaded guilty this morning to a federal aggravated sexual abuse charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Reano will be sentenced to 84 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Reano will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
Reano was arrested in May 2014, on an indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse. According to court filings, on July 19, 2013, Reano sexually assaulted the victim, an Indian woman, in a location within Kewa Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M.
Today, Reano entered a guilty plea to the indictment and admitted raping the victim on July 19, 2013. In his plea agreement, Reano acknowledged forcing the victim to engage in a sexual act victim against her will.
Reano has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.
The case was brought pursuant to 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. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
