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Jury convicts man accused of molesting a family member

Las Cruces Sun-News - 10/8/2021

LAS CRUCES - A man accused of molesting a young girl in his family was convicted by a jury on Thursday.

Tommie Joe Valverde, 81, was found guilty on two counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and three counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor after four days of testimony.

Valverde was initially indicted by a grand jury in January 2020 on five counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and four counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. But Third Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers directed the jury to consider two counts of criminal sexual penetration and criminal sexual contact.

The jury found Valverde guilty of all five charges they considered.

Police said in an affidavit that Valverde molested and raped a member of his family when the alleged victim was younger than 10 years old. Much of the abuse allegedly occurred when the alleged victim and her siblings were left with Valverde and his wife over long weekends.

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Valverde was initially held in jail without a bond. However, a judge granted Valverde a $10,000 secured bond shortly after the indictment came in. Valverde posted the bond in February 2020.

Immediately after the trial, Valverde was taken back to jail. A sentencing hearing is expected within the next few weeks.

Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached by email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or by phone at 575-541-5449 or on Twitter at @Just516garc.

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