Tucson Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for 1998 Child Sexual Abuse

     TUCSON, Ariz. – On October 23, 2019, Christopher James Preston, 52, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James A. Soto to 156 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release.  Preston is also required to register as a sex offender.

     A federal jury previously found Preston guilty in a re-trial of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. The evidence at the re-trial showed that in the summer of 1998, Preston, a member of the Tohono O’Odham Tribe, sexually abused the 10-year-old victim in Tucson, in the San Xavier district, on the Tohono O’odham reservation. At the time, Preston was the victim’s little league coach.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Tohono O’odham Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Matthew C. Cassell and Rui Wang, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.