U.S. Attorney Secures Sentence for Man who Assaulted a Child

ALBUQUERQUE – A Santa Fe man was sentenced to one year of home confinement followed by two years of supervised probation for assaulting his girlfriend’s son.

According to court documents, on June 19, 2021, Luis Xavier Rael, 36, was supervising his girlfriend’s 12-year-old son, who is a member of the Pueblo of Nambé. Rael made the child do a series of physical exercises, which the child did not to complete to Rael’s satisfaction. Because of this, Rael hit the child with a tree branch and a belt on his butt, lower back, and upper legs. The strikes caused significant bruising to the child.

In addition to the confinement and probation, Rael must also complete substance-abuse counseling, mental-health counseling, and make restitution to cover the child’s continued counseling.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case with assistance from the Santa Clara Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.

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