TACOMA — A 46-year-old Neah Bay man was convicted of abusive sexual contact following a three-day trial in U.S. District Court.
Schyler Colfax, a member of the Makah Tribe, was convicted Thursday after the jury deliberated for about an hour, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a press release.
Colfax faces up to two years in prison when he’s sentenced on Oct. 29 by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle.
Colfax will be required to register as a sex offender, Gorman said.
Court records said Colfax had regular access to the home of the 13-year-old girl on tribal land.
On Oct. 23, 2023, he was found in the girl’s bedroom after she had stayed home from school due to illness, according to the press release.
Adult relatives found Colfax in the girl’s bed and ordered him to leave, court records said.
The girl immediately told her guardians that Colfax had touched her inappropriately, the records said.
The family reported the conduct to the Neah Bay police, and Colfax was arrested later that evening.
The FBI joined the Neah Bay police in the investigation and an experienced forensic interviewer took a statement from the girl, the press release said.
The case was prosecuted in federal court because the incident occurred on tribal land and involved tribal members.
Colfax was indicted in November 2023 and has been in custody at the federal detention center in SeaTac since Nov. 16, 2023, the press release said.
The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Michael Harder and Celia Lee, who both serve as tribal liaisons for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
