FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Dexter Whiskers, 43, of Mescalero, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, made an initial appearance in Federal Court Friday facing a charge of sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country.

Whiskers will remain in custody pending a preliminary and detention hearing scheduled for April 20.

According to a criminal complaint, in October 2021, Whiskers, then a Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officer, allegedly engaged in and attempted to engage in a sexual act with a victim, identified as Jane Doe, who was 13 years old. The incident allegedly took place at the residence where Jane Doe lived at the time on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in Otero County, New Mexico.

A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Whiskers faces up to 15 years in prison.

The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico State Police and the full cooperation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant United States Attorney Matilda McCarthy Villalobos is prosecuting the case.