3 face charges of sex abuse, assault in Montezuma Creek case

SALT LAKE CITY — Three people indicted on charges of aggravated sexual abuse and aggravated assault made their initial appearance in federal court Thursday.

The charges against Cynthia Bitsuie, 40, Michael Whitehorse, 20, and Johnson Joe, 42 — all tribal members from Montezuma Creek — were filed in a two-count indictment handed down by a grand jury late Wednesday. The charges stem from an alleged sexual assault that took place on the Navajo Reservation Dec. 2.

The indictment says that the three banded together and forced their victim to engage in a sexual act, causing her bodily harm and injury. The incident took place in a "remote area east of Montezuma Creek," said Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. She said the victim, left alone after the incident, drove herself to a hospital and notified law enforcement.

Bitsuie, Whitehorse and Joe were arrested Wednesday in connection with an investigation by the FBI and Navajo criminal investigators and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Sam Alba Thursday. They will have a detention hearing Monday.

If convicted of both crimes, they will face maximum penalties of up to life in prison for aggravated sexual assault and up to 10 years for aggravated assault.

— Emiley Morgan