Prosecution Part of Federal Initiative to Address Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women
ALBUQUERQUE - Anthony Montoya, 33, an enrolled member of the Santa Ana Pueblo who resides in Bernalillo, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to sexual abuse charges. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Montoya will be sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. Montoya will also be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge William McClure of District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, Chief William Kurth of the Santa Ana Pueblo Tribal Police Department, and Sandoval County Sheriff Douglas C. Wood.
Montoya was arrested on June 20, 2016, on an indictment charging him with sexually abusing two women in Aug. 2014, and sexually abusing a third woman on April 30, 2016. According to the indictment, the victims were physically incapable of declining to participate in the sexual acts. According to the indictment, Montoya committed the crimes on the Santa Ana Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Montoya pled guilty to two counts of sexual abuse and admitted sexually abusing one woman on Aug. 16, 2014, and sexually abusing another woman on April 30, 2016. Montoya remains in custody pending a 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, the Santa Ana Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle is prosecuting the case.
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
