Desert Aire man sentenced for molestation

June 28--Print Article

DESERT AIRE -- A Desert Aire man was sentenced to 90 days in jail for molesting a young girl.

Rogelio Robles Nunez, 60, of Desert Aire, entered an Alford plea in Grant County Superior Court to second-degree child molestation. In an Alford plea a defendant is not pleading guilty to a crime, but believes they would be found guilty if the case were to proceed to trial. Following a joint recommendation between Chief Deputy Prosecutor Alan White and defense attorney Victor Ro, Judge John Antosz sentenced Robles Nunez to an exceptional sentence below the standard sentencing range of 15-20 months and imposed a 90-day sentence, with 36 months of community custody.

Robles Nunez was initially charged with first-degree molestation of a child and three counts of second-degree molestation of a child, but the first-degree charge and two of the second-degree charges were dropped in a plea agreement between White and Ro.

In late January a woman contacted the Grant County Sheriff's Office to report that her 9-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by Robles Nunez. In an interview with a detective the victim couldn't give an exact date for when the incident occurred, but described an incident in which Robles Nunez molested her, according to court documents.

The victim's mother told the detective Robles Nunez had sexually assaulted her as well at least six times over the course of six months when she was 12. Robles Nunez claimed he did not do anything to the victim and said she "was a troubled kid that always got in trouble."

He reiterated his innocence with regard to the victim's mother and denied having any past sexual contact with her. He admitted the allegations were serious and told the detective, "if they were true he would have fled to Mexico because he is here illegally. Rogelio explained that because he stayed that means he is a "truthful man."

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