After enduring years of sexual abuse beginning at age 5, a young woman in Navajo County finally secured justice when her abuser, Choc O. Wagoner, 61, of Snowflake, was sentenced recently to 27 years in prison, the maximum allowable sentence.
A Navajo County Superior Court jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict against Wagoner in early May, and on May 30, the court sentenced Wagoner for the crime of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a Class 2 felony and dangerous crime against children. The sentencing range for this crime is 13 to 27 years.
Wagoner, who worked in the past as a cattle auctioneer, abused the young girl in her home from 2006 through 2013, and threatened to kill her and her mother if she reported the abuse. In December 2022, when she was 21, the survivor disclosed the history of abuse to family and law enforcement. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office investigated the victims’ claims and referred the matter to the Navajo County Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
“Cases like these are notoriously difficult to secure convictions for because of the passage of time and lack of witnesses and physical evidence. Which makes this verdict and sentencing all the more triumphant,” said Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon. “I am immensely proud of the work of child sex crimes prosecutor Deputy County Attorney Rob Edwards. Rob was relentless in pursuing justice for this young woman, who endured the unimaginable. My thanks to the tremendous investigative efforts of the sheriff’s office and to the court for imposing the strongest possible penalty.
“I reserve my greatest commendation in this case for the courageous young woman who moved through her trauma and fear to report these crimes, face her abuser, tell her story and reclaim her power. Every person in our office who has touched this case is in awe of this brave survivor. I wish her continued healing.”
Wagoner is in custody of the Arizona Department of Corrections and is under a lifetime injunction prohibiting any future contact with the victim.
