United States v. Verl Hadley

Hadley appeals his convictions for aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241 (a)(1) and abusive sexual contact in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(2). He argues that the district court abused its discretion by improperly admitting evidence of prior acts of sexual abuse and explanatory expert witness testimony. He contends that insufficient evidence exists to convict him on one of the three counts on which he was found guilty. Finally, Hadley challenges his sentence, on the ground that it was not imposed in accordance with the Sentencing Guidelines. The district court exercised jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231 . We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I

Hadley is a former elementary school teacher who taught for eleven years at the Bureau of Indian Affairs School (BIA school) on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Chilchinbeto, Arizona. Complaints of sexual molestation led to an investigation of Hadley, which resulted in an indictment charging him with eleven counts of sexual abuse involving five minor victims. The district court granted Hadley’s motion to sever, and the subsequent trial dealt only with counts…