ALBUQUERQUE - A Twin Lakes man is facing federal charges for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a minor.

According to court documents, between on or about September 9, 2021, and on or about October 6, 2023, Donovan Tom Sherman, 51, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in sexual acts with a minor who had not then attained the age of 12 years.

Sherman is charged with aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact and will remain on conditions of release pending trial which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Sherman faces not less than 30 years and up to life in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meg Tomlinson is prosecuting the case as part of 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, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.