Mescalero man charged with sexual abuse of a minor

Pasqual Francis Ortega, 35, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation was sentenced in federal court in Las Cruces, on Aug. 4 for sexual abuse of a minor.

Ortega pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor on Nov. 25, 2019 following an August arrest.

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As part of the plea agreement Ortega admitted that in July 2019 he engaged in a sexual act with a 13-years-old. Ortega said the crime was committed on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Ortega was sentenced to 41 months in prison with five- years of supervised release.

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Ortega is required to register as a sex offender with the Sex Offender Registration (SOR) Unit per the requirements of the Sex Offenders and Registration Act.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Las Cruces Resident Agency with the assistance from the Mescalero Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services.

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The Case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

Pamela L. Bonner may be reached at Pbonner@RuidosoNews.com, Pam Bonner on Facebook, @Pamelalbonner1 on Twitter, or by phone at 575-202-5555.

This article originally appeared on Ruidoso News: Mescalero man charged with sexual abuse of a minor

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