Vado man gets 18 months for sexually assaulting girl

Las Cruces Sun-News
August 16, 2017

http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/16/vado-man-gets-18-months-sexually-assaulting-girl/574874001/

Jesus Luna-Armenta

LAS CRUCES — A Vado man was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a child, according to the 3rd Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Jesus Luna-Armenta, 29, pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual penetration of child (between 13 and 16 years old) and one count of selling or giving alcoholic beverages to a minor.

According to prosecutors, Luna-Armenta had sought a relationship with the 14-year-old victim through Facebook. His advances escalated, and on at least three occasions, he picked the victim up from her house with the intent to have sex, according to police reports.

On one occasion, Luna-Armenta took the girl to his house while his fiancée was not at home and forced her to engage in sexual activity, despite her objections, prosecutors said. In another instance, he took her to a motel room in Anthony, Texas, intending to force her to perform a sexual act.

At his sentencing, Luna-Armenta told the court that he teaches confirmation classes to teens at his church in Del Cerro, according to prosecutors. He also said he hopes to pursue a career in youth counseling one day.

Prosecutors asked that Luna-Armenta be prohibited from teaching classes to minors under the age of 18. Judge Douglas Driggers ordered that he could have contact with minors only if a “responsible adult” is present.

“This was a case involving someone who was entrusted with children,” District Attorney Mark D’Antonio said in a statement. “That he sought out a child on social media, groomed her and took advantage of her is an affront to all that is good in our community.”

The victim addressed the court at sentencing and asked that Luna-Armenta be sent to prison. She described the mental and emotional hardship that has resulted from the rapes, which have led to suicide attempts.

“I just want everything to be over and for that man to pay for what he has done,” she told the court, according to the prosecutors.

Luna-Armenta is not a legal United States resident, and because the crimes he committed are felonies, he will be removed from the country upon his release from the New Mexico Department of Corrections. However, if he ever resides in the U.S. again, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.