PHOENIX — Leonard Thomas Stewart, III, 24, of Fort Defiance, Arizona, was sentenced on June 17 by U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 188 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. Stewart pleaded guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child on Oct. 31.
Between Oct. 3, 2017, and July 11, 2019, Stewart reportedly engaged in abusive sexual contact with a minor victim on numerous occasions. One instance of sexual contact occurred in Fort Defiance while Stewart and the minor victim were riding horses together. Both the victim and Stewart are members of the Navajo Nation and the abusive sexual contact occurred on the Navajo Nation reservation.
The FBI and the Navajo Nation Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina J. Reid-Moore, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
