Arizona Man Indicted for Child Sexual Assaults on Navajo Nation

An Arizona man, Roman B. Ortiz, has been indicted on charges related to four alleged sexual assaults on a child, according to the U. S.

Attorney's Office. The incidents are said to have occurred over a span of three years, from June 2017 to June 2020, within the Navajo Nation.

Ortiz, 36, is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and faces four counts of aggravated sexual abuse. The charges allege that Ortiz engaged in or attempted to engage in sex acts with a minor under the age of 12 at a residence located within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Zachary C.

Jones, with the investigation led by the Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office. The Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations provided assistance in the investigation.

Ortiz is currently in custody and will remain so pending his trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison for each felony charge.

First Assistant U. S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Special Agent in Charge Justin A.

Garris of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office announced the indictment. The U. S.

Attorney's Office emphasized that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.