Minister guilty of sexual abuse

By Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — A Red Mesa, Ariz., minister could face up to life in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

Clarence Dee, 39, was found guilty on July 31 of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse by a federal jury in Phoenix, in a case tried before U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake.

Dee was being held in custody after trial and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 22.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, evidence presented at trial showed that on Dec. 26, 2006, a 16-year-old boy went to visit Dee — a preacher and family friend — over his school break.

During the late evening, after they had gone to bed, the defendant sexually assaulted the victim twice. The victim left the home in a remote part of the Navajo Reservation and ran more than three miles to call for help.

The victim suffered some physical trauma, according to the report. A DNA sample identified Dee as the perpetrator.

A conviction for aggravated sexual abuse carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both; however, the judge is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

The Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI conducted the investigation leading to the guilty verdict.