For Immediate Release:
December 30, 2019
Contact: Matt Baca — (505) 270-7148
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that
James Stewart was sentenced to twenty years in the Department of Corrections after he
was convicted 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 a top priority,” said Attorney General
Balderas. “I am grateful that we partnered with courageous young abuse survivors to
achieve justice and I commend them for their bravery in this case.”
The Office of the Attorney General is prosecuting three 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, criminal sexual
penetration of a minor 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 and
prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Brittany DuChaussee and Collin Brennan.