NAVAJO NATION, N.M. – Crownpoint man Wade Dixon has been convicted for sexual abuse of a minor on the Navajo Nation. The Cibola Citizen first reported on this case in March. Dixon was arraigned in a federal court for this sexual abuse charge on March 11; on June 16, Dixon pleaded guilty to charges of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
According to the grand jury’s indictment, Dixon engaged in a sexual act with a victim, identified as Jane Doe, on July 10, 2021. Jane Doe was 13 at the time of the abuse, Dixon was 32. The incident occurred on Navajo Nation land.
On February 24 the US Department of Justice convened a grand jury and indicted Dixon on the sexual abuse charge. On June 16, Dixon pleaded guilty to the charges of Sexual Abuse of a minor.
Dixon, now 33, faces 13 months – a year and one month – in prison. When he is released, Dixon must register as a sex offender. Dixon is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation Police Department worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to uncover the evidence in the case. Special Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea N. Van Deventer prosecuted this case on behalf of the US Government.
This case was prosecuted as part of the US Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. The program launched in May 2006 and works to protected children and the vulnerable from the “growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.” The program is led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The initiative gathers resources from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to ensure that justice is served, and those individuals who exploit children are held accountable.