Ernest Larry Tabaha, a 65-year-old man from Fort Defiance, Arizona, has been sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for sexually abusing a teenager on the Navajo Nation. U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan also ordered 180 months of supervised release following his prison term. Tabaha had previously pleaded guilty to the charge.
The incident occurred in 2024 when Tabaha, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, provided alcohol to a teenage girl until she became highly intoxicated and unconscious. He then engaged in a sexual act with the victim while she was incapacitated.
The investigation into the case was conducted jointly by the FBI Phoenix Division’s Flagstaff office and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.