{"id":15258,"date":"2021-08-24T17:10:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T21:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=15258"},"modified":"2021-08-24T17:38:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T21:38:02","slug":"howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Howard Center for Investigative Journalism: Child sexual abuse in Indian Country goes unprosecuted"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2_-Z0PQf7rE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Howard Center for Investigative Journalism: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/2_-Z0PQf7rE>\u2018Little victims everywhere\u2019<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h1-responsive\">The federal trust  <\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">\u2018No justice, just unfairness\u2019<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, August 24, 2021<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Brendon Derr, Rylee Kirk, Anne Mickey, Allison Vaughn, McKenna Leavens and Leilani Fitzpatrick <\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Howard Center for Investigative Journalism<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><a href=https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/littlevictims\/>azpbs.org\/littlevictims<\/a><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<strong><em>Chapter 2  of four parts<\/em><\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nEvery day that Christine Benally looks out of the window of her home, she\u2019s reminded of how the federal government failed to protect her child. Some 200 yards away sits the house of the man she says sexually assaulted her son.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn November 2005, Benally\u2019s then-13-year-old son told her that he had been sexually abused by a relative over several years. What happened next, based on records Benally provided to the Howard Center, was a by-the-book approach to seeking help.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBenally filed a crime report with the Navajo Nation Police Department in Shiprock, New Mexico, and also contacted social services. When she and her son met with police, they provided the names of those involved, including the suspect, the time frame of the incidents and location of the alleged crimes. According to Navajo police records, the suspect \u201cconfessed to the allegations.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?attachment_id=15136\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15136\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1626\" data-attachment-id=\"15136\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/christinebenally\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/ChristineBenally.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2400,1626\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1629285280&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Christine Benally\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Christine Benally talks to reporters at her home in Little Water, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, on July 7, 2021. After years of struggling to get authorities to address her son\u2019s report of sexual abuse, she said, \u201cThere\u2019s no justice, there\u2019s just a lot of unfairness.\u201d (Photo by Rylee Kirk \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/ChristineBenally-1024x694.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/ChristineBenally.jpg\" alt=\"Christine Benally\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-15136\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Christine Benally talks to reporters at her home in Little Water, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, on July 7, 2021. After years of struggling to get authorities to address her son\u2019s report of sexual abuse, she said, \u201cThere\u2019s no justice, there\u2019s just a lot of unfairness.\u201d (Photo by Rylee Kirk \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn January 2006, Benally was interviewed by a Navajo police criminal investigator and, records show, both she and her son were later questioned at their home by FBI agents from nearby Farmington, New Mexico. Records from Navajo family court also say that one of the FBI agents said the suspect had confessed.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut in November 2007, two years after first contacting police, Benally received a fax from an FBI victim specialist in Farmington, saying that an assistant U.S. attorney had declined the case. No reason was given.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBenally is well-known in her community, in part because she refused to drop the issue and move on quietly with her life. After the suspect moved back to the family homestead in 2012, she began lobbying for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office to reopen her son\u2019s case. She even appealed to then-President Barack Obama.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn 2015 and 2017, she received three more letters from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office in New Mexico, restating that the case was closed for insufficient evidence, but offering no details.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBenally says she still doesn\u2019t understand why the case was declined.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/departmentofjusticechristinebenally\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15261\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1553\" data-attachment-id=\"15261\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/departmentofjusticechristinebenally\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/departmentofjusticechristinebenally.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2400,1553\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"U.S. Attorney&amp;#8217;s Office Declination Letter\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;In 2017, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in New Mexico sent Christine Benally a letter stating that her son&amp;#8217;s case was declined because of insufficient evidence. Provided by Christine Benally&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/departmentofjusticechristinebenally-1024x663.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/departmentofjusticechristinebenally.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. Attorney&#039;s Office Declination Letter\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-15261\" \/><\/a> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">In 2017, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in New Mexico sent Christine Benally a letter stating that her son&#8217;s case was declined because of insufficient evidence. Provided by Christine Benally<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAmber Kanazbah Crotty, a Navajo government official who accompanied Benally to a meeting with federal prosecutors in 2015, said she didn\u2019t know either. \u201cI do not have the clear answers on why there was a federal declination. When we spoke with the U.S. attorney\u2019s office with Christine, they had just told her in my presence that they had already told her \u2026 the reasons why her case was declined.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe Justice Department\u2019s handling of major crimes in Indian Country has long been a concern.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn December 2010, the Government Accountability Office \u2014 the investigative arm of Congress \u2014 issued its <a href=https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-11-167r>findings on how often federal prosecutors were declining to prosecute cases from Indian Country<\/a>, where violent crimes were running about 2.5 times the U.S. average.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFrom 2005 to 2009, investigators found, U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute about half of all violent crimes and 67 percent of \u201csexual abuse crimes and related matters.\u201d The report did not distinguish between adult and child sex abuse crimes. Reasons for declinations varied, but weak or insufficient evidence was most frequently cited.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nEarlier that year, Congress had passed the Tribal Law and Order Act, aimed at addressing these high rates of violent crime. It expanded data collection from the FBI and U.S. attorneys about cases referred and declined for prosecution and required that information be made public annually. Those reports show consistently high levels of FBI case closures and Justice Department declinations for child sexual abuse crimes.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?attachment_id=15138\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15138\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"963\" data-attachment-id=\"15138\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/amberkanazbahcrotty-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/AmberKanazbahCrotty.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,963\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1629285278&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Amber Kanazbah Crotty\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Amber Kanazbah Crotty, delegate to the Navajo Nation Council, stands outside the local chapter house in Sheep Springs, New Mexico., on July 7, 2021. Crotty, a sexual assault survivor, accompanied Christine Benally to a meeting with the U.S. attorney in New Mexico in 2015 to understand why Benally&amp;#8217;s son&amp;#8217;s case was declined. Photo by Brendon Derr \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/AmberKanazbahCrotty-1024x822.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/AmberKanazbahCrotty.jpg\" alt=\"Amber Kanazbah Crotty\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-15138\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Amber Kanazbah Crotty, delegate to the Navajo Nation Council, stands outside the local chapter house in Sheep Springs, New Mexico., on July 7, 2021. Crotty, a sexual assault survivor, accompanied Christine Benally to a meeting with the U.S. attorney in New Mexico in 2015 to understand why Benally&#8217;s son&#8217;s case was declined. Photo by Brendon Derr \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFor tribal courts that met certain judicial standards, the act increased sentencing authority from one to three years and fines from $5,000 to $15,000. And it formalized the role of tribal liaisons \u2014 assistant U.S. attorneys whose job was to build relationships with tribal authorities and develop multidisciplinary teams of federal and tribal prosecutors, investigators, victim witness coordinators and others to investigate crimes such as the sexual abuse of children.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBy 2017, the Justice Department\u2019s Office of the Inspector General had found <a href=https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/reports\/review-departments-tribal-law-enforcement-efforts-pursuant-tribal-law-and-order-act-2010>widespread problems with the law\u2019s implementation<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe found that no Department-level entity oversees Indian country law enforcement activities or ensures the Department\u2019s compliance\u201d with the act\u2019s mandates, the inspector general\u2019s report said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThere was no \u201ccoordinated approach to overseeing the assistance\u201d provided, the report said. The department had not prioritized assistance \u201cconsistent with its public statements or annual reports to Congress.\u201d It also needed to do more to ensure all required training was being provided. Crime data in Indian Country \u201cremains unreliable and incomplete,\u201d the report found. And despite Indian Country being a \u201cpriority area,\u201d funding for federal prosecutions there had decreased by 28% from $27.6 million in 2010 to $19.8 million in 2016.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=row><div class=col-6>\r\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/dojoig\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15277\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1275\" height=\"1650\" data-attachment-id=\"15277\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/dojoig\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/dojoig.png\" data-orig-size=\"1275,1650\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Review of the Department&amp;#8217;s Tribal Law Enforcement Efforts Pursuant to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Review of the Department&amp;#8217;s Tribal Law Enforcement Efforts Pursuant to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/dojoig-791x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/dojoig.png\" alt=\"Review of the Department&#039;s Tribal Law Enforcement Efforts Pursuant to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15277\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Department of Justice Office of Inspector General: <a href=https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/reports\/review-departments-tribal-law-enforcement-efforts-pursuant-tribal-law-and-order-act-2010>Review of the Department&#8217;s Tribal Law Enforcement Efforts Pursuant to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010<\/a> (December 2017)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div><div class=col-6>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/gao\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15278\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1275\" height=\"1650\" data-attachment-id=\"15278\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/gao\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/gao.png\" data-orig-size=\"1275,1650\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"U.S. Department of Justice Declinations of Indian Country Criminal Matters\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;U.S. Department of Justice Declinations of Indian Country Criminal Matters&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/gao-791x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/gao.png\" alt=\"U.S. Department of Justice Declinations of Indian Country Criminal Matters\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15278\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Government Accountability Office: <a href=https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-11-167r>U.S. Department of Justice Declinations of Indian Country Criminal Matters<\/a> (December 2010)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe inspector general also noted that the tribal liaisons \u2014 those assistant U.S. attorneys who were supposed to improve relations between tribal and federal authorities \u2014 were nearly ineffective because they continued to carry full caseloads, leaving little time for tribal liaising.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe lack of oversight and coordination meant that U.S. attorney\u2019s offices around the country differed in how they prioritized and implemented Indian Country obligations. More than half of the operational plans of U.S. attorney\u2019s offices with Indian Country jurisdiction lacked basic protocols for things like notifying tribes about case declinations, the report said, with some tribes never receiving notice.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThat\u2019s apparently what happened in Benally\u2019s case.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWhen she asked tribal prosecutors in 2014 to consider taking her son\u2019s case to Navajo court, they twice wrote to the FBI\u2019s special agent in charge in New Mexico asking for information on why the case was declined.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nUltimately, it didn\u2019t matter. In April 2016, the Attorney General of the Navajo Nation wrote Benally acknowledging concerns \u201cabout the sexual assault perpetrated against your son that you reported several years ago,\u201d but noting that the statute of limitations had expired for prosecution in Navajo court. There is no statute of limitations in federal court for child sexual abuse.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?attachment_id=15134\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15134\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"694\" data-attachment-id=\"15134\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/pineridgereservationskatepark\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/PineRidgeReservationSkatePark.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,694\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1629285271&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Pine Ridge Reservation\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Youth play at a skatepark in Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on July 22, 2021. Several former U.S. attorneys believe that tribes should be given the authority and resources to handle crimes like child sexual abuse. Photo by Isaac Stone Simonelli \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/PineRidgeReservationSkatePark-1024x592.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/PineRidgeReservationSkatePark.jpg\" alt=\"Pine Ridge Reservation\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-15134\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Youth play at a skatepark in Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on July 22, 2021. Several former U.S. attorneys believe that tribes should be given the authority and resources to handle crimes like child sexual abuse. Photo by Isaac Stone Simonelli \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Where \u2018truth comes to die\u2019<\/div>\r\nFBI agents are often the federal government\u2019s first representative on the scene of a reported crime in Indian Country, even though they may live and work hundreds of miles away. In Colorado, for example, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe are between a 320- and 400-mile drive from the Denver offices of the FBI and U.S. attorney. Given that the FBI has no 911-like intake process, agents are always one degree removed from any Indian Country investigation.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe Justice Department\u2019s inspector general also noted that FBI agents received inadequate training, despite the unique cultural, jurisdictional and geographic challenges of working in Indian Country. High-turnover rates among agents working in Indian Country, considered a hardship post under agency guidelines, make it difficult to build relationships with tribal authorities, which ultimately affects the quality of investigations.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nTimothy Purdon, the former U.S. attorney for North Dakota, said there was sometimes a \u201clack of quality investigations\u201d so that when an abuse case reached the federal prosecutor\u2019s desk there was insufficient evidence for a conviction. He said he often encouraged his FBI partners to allocate more resources for investigating child sexual abuse in Indian Country: \u201cYou\u2019re constantly fighting with the Bureau to get them to prioritize these cases.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nThe former FBI agent in Indian Country, who asked not to be named so that he could speak freely, said the decision to decline a child sex abuse case had a lot to do with a prosecutor\u2019s \u201ccomfort level\u201d and that U.S. attorneys were more accustomed to cases that are \u201ccut and dried.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe also said there was virtually no oversight, beyond front-line supervisors, of FBI agents\u2019 decisions to close cases, and senior management \u201cnever ever look at (closed) cases due to insufficient evidence in Indian Country.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWyn Hornbuckle, the Justice Department spokesman, highlighted seven cases over the last six years of \u201csignificant prosecution\u201d of child sex abuse in Indian Country, leading to convictions, ranging from life to less than two years.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut even when such cases seemingly have everything needed for conviction, they can still fall apart.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn September 2013, Leo Thompson, a member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his girlfriend\u2019s granddaughter when she was 12. But before his sentencing hearing, the victim sent two letters to the court recanting her accusation. From there the case collapsed \u2014 charges were dropped, and Thompson went free.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/christinebenally-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15266\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"722\" data-attachment-id=\"15266\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/24\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted-2\/christinebenally-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/christinebenally.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,722\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Christine Benally\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Christine Benally watches her sheep in Little Water, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, on July 7, 2021. After receiving three declinations from the federal government, Benally tried to take her son\u2019s case to the Navajo Nation court, but was told the statute of limitations had expired. Photo by Rylee Kirk \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/christinebenally-1024x616.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/24\/christinebenally.jpg\" alt=\"Christine Benally\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-15266\" \/><\/a> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Christine Benally watches her sheep in Little Water, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, on July 7, 2021. After receiving three declinations from the federal government, Benally tried to take her son\u2019s case to the Navajo Nation court, but was told the statute of limitations had expired. Photo by Rylee Kirk \/ Howard Center for Investigative Journalism<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAccording to an official transcript of the dismissal hearing, the prosecutor told the federal court in New Mexico he believed that family pressure played a role in the girl\u2019s decision to recant. \u201cSometimes, sadly, the courtroom is a place where the truth comes to die, and that\u2019s what happened in this case,\u201d prosecutor Jack E. Burkhead said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nUnsuccessful with prosecutors, Christine Benally sought other legal measures to help her son. He filed for a protective order against his alleged abuser in Navajo family court in 2014. It was initially denied, but in 2017 the Navajo Supreme Court granted temporary protection. The high court ruled that Benally\u2019s son \u201cdid prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it is more likely than not\u201d that the abuse had occurred, even though the alleged abuser now denied it.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nNews of that decision came in a letter from the court addressed to her son, who was by then away at college. \u201cWhat do they want with him now?\u201d Benally recalled thinking.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_indianz-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/18\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/29\/alicewatchmanleonardwatchman-10.jpg\" alt=\"Howard Center for Investigative Journalism: Child sexual abuse in Indian Country goes unprosecuted\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/18\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted\/\">\n\t\t\tHoward Center for Investigative Journalism: Child sexual abuse in Indian Country goes unprosecuted\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/18\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted\/\">\n\t\t\t<p>\u201cThey\u2019re just little victims everywhere,\u201d a child abuse specialist on the Navajo Nation said.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"Indianz.Com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe letter sat on her kitchen counter for a week before she mustered the courage to tell her son about it over the phone.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cHe was crying, and he says, \u2018So they believe me?\u2019\u201d she said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFor Benally, the acknowledgement 12 years after their first report to police, was too little, too late.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s no justice,\u201d Benally said. \u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of unfairness.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM>\r\nResearchers Grace Oldham and Rachel Gold contributed to this story. It was produced by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University\u2019s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, an initiative of the Scripps Howard Foundation in honor of the late news industry executive and pioneer Roy W. Howard. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFor more see <a href=https:\/\/azpbs.org\/littlevictims>azpbs.org\/littlevictims<\/a>. Contact the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism  at howardcenter@asu.edu or on <a href=https:\/\/twitter.com\/howardcenterasu>Twitter @HowardCenterASU<\/a>.\r\n<\/em><HR>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h4-responsive\">Related Stories<\/div>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/08\/18\/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism-child-sexual-abuse-in-indian-country-goes-unprosecuted\/\" title=\"Howard Center for Investigative Journalism: Child sexual abuse in Indian Country goes unprosecuted\">Howard Center for Investigative Journalism: Child sexual abuse in Indian Country goes unprosecuted<\/a> (August 18, 2021)\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every day that Christine Benally looks out of the window of her home, she\u2019s reminded of how the federal government failed to protect her child.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,13,1,14],"tags":[1933,1932,101,362,100,386,1931,397,511,1935,24,167,1191,220,1934,643,106,422,102],"class_list":["post-15258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-amber-kanzabah-crotty","tag-christine-benally","tag-crime","tag-doj","tag-fbi","tag-gao","tag-howard-center","tag-jurisdiction","tag-law-enforcement","tag-leo-thompson","tag-navajo","tag-new-mexico","tag-oig","tag-sovereignty","tag-tim-purdon","tag-tloa","tag-tribal-courts","tag-us-attorneys","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/19\/ChristineBenally.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-3Y6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}