Fort Defiance Man Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Leonard Thomas Stewart, III, 24, of Fort Defiance, was sentenced on June 17, 2024, by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 188 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. Stewart pleaded guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child on October 31, 2023. 

Between October 3, 2017, and July 11, 2019, Stewart engaged in abusive sexual contact with the minor victim on numerous occasions. One instance of sexual contact occurred in Fort Defiance while Stewart and the minor victim were riding horses together. Both the victim and Stewart are members of the Navajo Nation Indian Tribe and the abusive sexual contact occurred on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina J. Reid-Moore, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-21-08029-PCT-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-091_Stewart

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