Trial delayed for man accused of 62 sexual assault crimes against family member

LAS CRUCES - The trial for a man accused of over 60 sexual assault crimes was delayed by the defense attorney on Tuesday. 

Johnny Pacheco, 48, was indicted in May 2021 on 62 sexual assault counts including one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, two counts of criminal solicitation to commit tampering with evidence, 15 counts of sexual exploitation of children, and 42 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. 

After his indictment in May, Pacheco's trial was scheduled for Oct. 28. He's currently awaiting trial out of jail on a $35,000 bond. Pacheco's attorney said that he needed more time to review the case. 

Police said that the alleged teen victim, who lived with Pacheco and his wife, said that Pacheco would force her to perform sexually explicit acts on him while he filmed her. She told police that in exchange for these acts, Pacheco would buy her school clothes, allow her time with her friends and have access to her cell phone.

Pacheco denied the allegations and called them absurd, police said. He said that the alleged victim was considering posting on a pornography website and would send him sexually explicit videos to get his consent. 

"Almost all of (Pacheco's) statements were directly proven as lies," a police detective said in an affidavit. 

Pacheco's case will likely be rescheduled for trial in the coming months. 

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.