Man convicted of raping child to be sentenced for probation violation
Content warning: This article contains descriptions of child sexual abuse that some readers may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.
An investigation earlier this year that centered on alleged child sexual abuse in Los Alamos and Albuquerque led to multiple felony charges against a Los Alamos man at the center of that investigation. It also led to the arrest of 37-year-old Shawn M. Cavasos, who pleaded guilty in March to felony counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor as part of a plea agreement. Cavasos is now due in court later this month to be sentenced for violating the terms of that agreement.
Cavasos’ March conviction and plea agreement followed charges that he raped a 15-year-old girl and provided her drugs and alcohol, but under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a felony child abuse charge. He also received the promise of a conditional discharge for the charges of rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but only if he served a three-year probation and complied with the terms of the agreement and the conditions of release imposed by the court. Those conditions included the completion of alcohol and substance abuse counseling, and it ordered that he cannot consume alcohol while on probation.
Prosecutors, however, alleged in a motion filed in Los Alamos District Court in May that Cavasos missed a required May 12 office visit with a probation officer and that he was intoxicated when he called to reschedule the meeting. Cavasos reported in person to a probation officer the next day, and admitted to drinking alcohol, according to the motion.
Following the probation meeting, prosecutors on May 27 filed a petition to revoke probation in Los Alamos District Court; a sentencing hearing in the case is scheduled for July 30.
The initial charges against Cavasos came following an investigation into 63-year-old Timothy Pacheco, the father of the 15-year-old girl who Cavasos was convicted of raping. Police alleged in separate affidavits that Pacheco allowed Cavasos and 21-year-old Kyrina Deschamp to have sex with the girl. Prosecutors in May dropped the charges against Deschamp after placing her in a preprosecution diversion program, though the charges could be refiled if she fails to complete the program.
A trial in the case against Pacheco is pending, with jury selection in Los Alamos District Court slated to begin on December 7.