Navajo medicine men sentenced for rape

Wednesday, September 19, 2007  

A Navajo medicine men was sentenced to 12 years for raping his daughter-in-law.

Herbert Yazzie Sr. was previously convicted of rape and sentenced to 18 years. But the New Mexico Supreme Court overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial.

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 sentenced for rape (The Gallup Independent 9/18)

Navajo medicine man convicted of rape (6/20)