The following is a new release from New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office:
Ninth Judicial District Attorney, Andrea Reeb, announced that on February 26, 2019, a Roosevelt County jury found Benjamin Pritchett, age 58, of Clovis, guilty of Criminal Sexual Penetration of a Child under 13 years of age, a first degree felony.
In August of 2016, the child’s aunt reported to the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office that her niece was sexually assaulted by Pritchett when she was 12 years of age. This occurred when the child was spending the night at the Pritchett residence in Floyd, New Mexico in 2013. The child gave a statement at an Oasis (Child Safehouse) interview, and Pritchett was arrested in Midland, Texas, in October of 2016.
The Honorable Donna J. Mowrer presided over the two-day trial. Mowrer ordered that Pritchett be taking into immediate custody. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 29, 2019, where Pritchett faces a sentence of 18 years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections.
Jake Boazman, Deputy District Attorney, prosecuted the case for the State. Pritchett was represented by criminal defense attorney, Sandra Gallagher, Portales, NM.
District attorney Andrea Reeb stated, “Another sexual predator will now be out of our community, and I am thankful for the jury’s verdict in this matter.”
For more information, please contact the District Attorney’s Office at 575-769-2246.
(News release from the New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office)