For Immediate Release:
October 30, 2019
Contact: Matt Baca — (505) 270-7148
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that an
Albuquerque jury convicted James Stewart, Sr. of three counts of human
trafficking. Jurors found that between 2015 and 2018, Stewart, Sr. used his three minor
children to panhandle around Albuquerque so he could use that money to buy drugs. All
three children courageously testified against their father at trial.
“Protecting New Mexican children from predators is absolutely the top priority for my
office,” said Attorney General Balderas. “I am pleased that our office was able to achieve
justice on behalf of these young survivors, and I commend them for their courage in this
case.”
Jurors convicted Stewart, Sr. of two first-degree felonies, which carry mandatory
incarceration, and one second-degree felony. Stewart, Sr. faces between 18 and 51
years at sentencing. The Court announced after the verdicts that it would set sentencing
at a later date.
The Office of the Attorney General is prosecuting two additional cases against Stewart
Sr., in which he stands accused of additional charges of child abuse, human trafficking,
contributing to the delinquency of a minor, criminal conspiracy, and criminal sexual
contact of a minor. The victims in those cases are also his minor children.
This case was investigated by special agents from the Office of the Attorney General, the
Office of the Attorney General Victim Services Unit provided advocacy services to the
survivors, and it was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Brittany DuChaussee
and Collin Brennan.
