Zuni Pueblo Man Gets 10-Year Federal Prison Term for Sexual Abuse

Stanton Hannaweeke, 63, an enrolled member and resident of the Pueblo of Zuni, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Feb. 19, 2026 after pleading guilty to one count of sexual abuse, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. The sentence was handed down in federal court in Albuquerque and was publicized via a press release from the District of New Mexico.

Court and local reporting say Hannaweeke admitted to engaging in a nonconsensual sexual act with a woman on Aug. 19, 2023. At sentencing, the court ordered 10 years of supervised release after the prison term and required Hannaweeke to register as a sex offender upon release; the announcement did not list a statutory citation, the sentencing judge’s name, or any restitution or fines.

The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Burkhead, and investigators on the case included the Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Officials described the prosecution as part of Project Safe Childhood, which is characterized as "Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims." For more information about Project Safe Childhood, readers are directed to the program’s public materials.

The available public statements and reporting present an inconsistency: local accounts describe the victim as "a woman," while Project Safe Childhood is framed around child sexual exploitation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office press release announcing the sentence did not specify the victim’s age, and the publicly released materials did not include the plea date or plea agreement details, leaving open questions about why the case was aligned with the Project Safe Childhood initiative.

Hannaweeke’s sentence follows a string of federal prosecutions involving Zuni residents. In 2011, Alphonso Chavez, then 48, was sentenced in federal court in Albuquerque to 10 years followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a child under 16 with offenses in 2008. In a separate matter, Fernando Yatsatie Jr., 48, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse involving a minor in August 2021 and was later sentenced to more than 11 years in prison with 15 years of supervised release. Federal authorities also announced a criminal complaint against Rodney Waikaniwa after alleged offenses learned Feb. 10, 2023; the complaint alleges admissions to abusing two victims and indicates a potential minimum penalty of 30 years if convicted. A truncated federal notice shows a separate matter involving Devin Wade Wyaco on Sept. 19, 2024, with only a brief fragment of the charging text publicly available.

Hannaweeke’s sentence underscores continued federal involvement in serious sexual-abuse prosecutions within and connected to the Pueblo of Zuni, and it highlights ongoing operational cooperation between the FBI’s Gallup Resident Agency and the Zuni Police Department. Public announcements in this case leave statutory and documentary gaps in the record, meaning court dockets and any future filings will be the primary sources for the missing details on charges, plea terms, and sentencing rationale.