ACOMA PUEBLO – Sexual assaulter Eric Chino pleaded guilty in a federal court to failing to register as a sex offender for almost three years. Chino faces 15 months in prison once sentencing occurs.
In 2013 the United States Department of Justice began a new initiative to address what they called an “Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women.” This initiative aimed at protecting Native American women from violent situations. In 2015, Acoma Pueblo man Eric Chino pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman in Cibola County on the Acoma Pueblo. Chino was sentenced to three years in prison and was required to register as a sexual offender after leaving prison. After leaving prison he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he failed to register as a sex offender.
On November 26, 2014, Chino was arrested after being indicted for aggravated sexual abuse. According to the indictment, Chino sexually assaulted an unnamed woman in Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County. On March 12, 2015, Chino pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault and abusive sexual contact. For these charges, Chino was sentenced to three years in prison and mandated to register as a sexual offender after release from prison. This prosecution was made possible thanks to a Tribal Sepcial Assistant US Attorney Pilot Project, which was sponsored by the United States Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, using a grant administered through the Pueblo of Laguna. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services – Laguna/Acoma Agency, the Acoma Pueblo Police Department, and was prosecuted by then-Assistant US Attorney David Adamas.
From October 26, 2019 to at least January 5, 2021, Chino failed to update his sex offender registration, as required by law. In a plea agreement signed on April 14, Chino admitted that he knew of the requirements and pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to update his registration. Chino will be sentenced in this case at a later date and is facing 15 years in prison.
The United States Marshals Service investigated this case with assistance from US Probation and Pretrial services. Special Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea N. Van Deventer is prosecuting this case.