Bill in Navajo Council targets Internet sex crimes

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – Navajo lawmakers convening Monday for their spring session will consider adding the sexual exploitation of children via the Internet to the list of crimes punishable by the tribe.

The bill's sponsor, Hope MacDonald LoneTree, said the tribe lacks a law to address such a crime against children, and police officers, social workers and behavioral health specialists have expressed concern over the issue.

The measure also would make possession of child pornography a crime under tribal law.

“It is protecting our children, making sure we can prosecute those people who are preying upon our children,” said MacDonald LoneTree, who sits on the Tribal Council's Public Safety Committee.

Under the law, anyone caught using a computer, digital camera, telephone, video recorder or other electronic equipment to prey on minors would be subject to prosecution. Convicted offenders could face up to a year in jail – the maximum time under tribal law – be fined $5,000 or both.

They also would be required to register as a sex offender with the tribe, though the Navajo Nation still is working to implement a registration system to comply with a federal law passed nearly three years ago.

Robert Platero, director of criminal investigations for the tribe, said authorities have seen in training sessions the attention children in chat rooms can attract. He believes it's only a matter of time before tribal police come across a case of sexual predators using the Internet to lure children on the reservation.

“Looking at the outside world and how available the Internet is to the communities and everybody here on the Navajo Nation, we just don't want to take that chance to literally be caught in the dark,” he said.

Platero said authorities have identified around 600 sex offenders living on the Navajo Nation, though not all are tribal members.

The Tribal Council's weeklong spring session is held in the tribal capital of Window Rock. Among the other items on the agenda are a handful of appropriations that sponsors will likely face challenges passing because the fund that lawmakers usually draw from is in the negative.

Lawmakers also will take up a bill to further increase the power of the top lawyer for the tribe's legislative branch. The measure would give the legislative counsel authority equal to that of the tribe's attorney general in hiring or terminating a special prosecutor.

The bill sponsored by Delegate Orlanda Smith Hodge also would subject judges selected for the panel that appoints special prosecutors to confirmation by the Tribal Council.

Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. likely will veto the measure if it reaches his desk. Shirley rejected a measure earlier this year to allow the legislative counsel to issue legal opinions, contract with outside attorneys and enforce election codes.

At the time, Chief Legislative Counsel Frank Seanez said the measure will strengthen the Navajo Nation and its ability to address legal challenges. Shirley said the measure was politically motivated and presented a conflict of interest, but the council overrode his veto.

The new duties for the chief legislative counsel historically had been reserved solely for the tribe's attorney general.