ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A Zuni resident has been indicted in federal court on charges alleging he sexually abused two individuals over a two-year period.
According to court documents, between May 2017 and October 2019, Kyle Whiteeagle, 42, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin, allegedly engaged in and attempted to engage in sexual acts with two different victims.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Whiteeagle with four counts of aggravated sexual abuse. He will remain in custody pending trial. A trial date has not yet been scheduled.
If convicted on the charges, Whiteeagle faces a minimum of 30 years and up to life in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the indictment on Dec. 1.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Mondragon is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Project Safe Childhood coordinates federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. More information is available at Justice. gov/PSC.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.