Navajo medicine man denies rape despite conviction

Thursday, September 20, 2007  

A Navajo medicine man continues to deny raping his daughter-in-law despite being convicted twice of the crime.

Herbert Yazzie showed no remorse at his sentencing hearing on Monday. “It never happened," he said of his crime, The Gallup Independent.

Yazzie was convicted a second time of raping his daughter-in-law during a ceremony she requested in 2000. She was pregnant at the time. It took years to bring Yazzie to justice due to jurisdictional questions about the location of the crime.

Since Yazzie has already served time, the judge had two years of his new sentence suspended and will be given credit for the five years he spent in prison. He could be eligible for release in 3.5 years for good behavior. He will remain on probation for 10 years following his release.

Get the Story:
Medicine man claims: ‘Rape never happened’ (The Gallup Independent 9/19)

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Navajo medicine men sentenced for rape (9/19)
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