Mescalero man pleads guilty to years of child sexual abuse

A Mescalero man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday in a child sexual abuse case involving a household member.

Deverne Torres Jr., 45, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, pleaded guilty to federal sexual abuse of a minor and admitted to multiple sexual acts against a teenage girl from 2019 to 2021 under a plea agreement. Torres remains in custody in Las Cruces while awaiting a sentencing hearing where he faces a maximum prison term of 15 years, a fine of up to $250,000 and registration as a sex offender. The federal sentence does not offer the possibility of parole.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison jointly announced the plea on Friday with Justin Garris, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque field office. Deverne made his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerry Ritter.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs initiated an investigation of Torres in 2021 after receiving a report that another child had witnessed sexual contact between Torres, then 40, and the girl, who was 13 years old at the time and is anonymous in the complaint.

Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers conducted interviews with multiple witnesses, including the child victim, who allegedly told investigators the sexual abuse began when she was 7 or 8 years old and escalated to sexual assaults. The case was subsequently referred to the FBI, which arrested Torres last year on federal charges of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and committing a crime within Indian country.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said the BIA is seeking other potential victims of Torres.

Torres was previously charged with battery against a household member in 2020, involving an adult victim, but the charge was dropped by prosecutors when the victim declined to participate in the prosecution.

State court records show that Torres was charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration, false imprisonment and battery in 2009, when he was 29 years old. Court records indicate the case was bound over to federal court, but the case record evidently remains under seal.

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.