Prosecutors seek to hold Ruidoso man accused of child sexual abuse

Prosecutors in Lincoln County are seeking to confine a former Ruidoso school employee charged with 22 felony counts of sexual exploitation of children and related charges through his trial.

District Attorney Ryan Suggs’ office filed an expedited pretrial detention motion Monday, arguing that Devin Henderson, 23, “poses a future threat to others or the community” and that no conditions of release would keep the public safe.

Henderson was arrested last week following an investigation initiated last December. Multiple children reported encounters with Henderson, described in court filings as a computer lab technician at the private Mountain View Christian Academy, who was placed on administrative leave during the investigation and subsequently terminated.

According to a police affidavit, children told investigators Henderson isolated them in the computer lab, showed some of them nude or seminude images of himself or of computer-generated female figures and inappropriately touched them, some under their clothing.

Prosecutors accuse Henderson of sexual contact with seven children under the age of 13 and indicate an investigation is ongoing, alleging police found pornographic material involving children on his mobile phone.

In addition to the counts of sexual exploitation of children, Henderson faces seven counts of second-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor; seven counts of enticement of a child; three counts of distributing sexually oriented materials to minors; and one count of indecent exposure.

Henderson’s defense attorney, Travis Marston, argued in a motion seeking Henderson’s release from custody that he is employed and helps support his grandmother. Moreover, Marston wrote, Henderson “is believed to be suffering from some level of autism on the spectrum which incarceration is likely to exacerbate.”

The pretrial detention hearing is set for Monday afternoon. The DA’s office declined to comment on the case.

“Anyone accused of a crime in the state of New Mexico is innocent until proven guilty, and that same person has the right to zealous representation in a court of law,” Marston told the Journal. “It’s important to note that the jury is the trier of fact, not conjecture or social media.”