Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A 34-year-old Logan man was jailed March 24 following allegations he had sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Joshua Lee Roubieu is charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contract with a minor by force or coercion, fourth-degree criminal sexual communication with a child and enticement of a child.
Four of the sex-related charges are fourth-degree felonies that can lead up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
New Mexico State Police investigator Andrew Martinez took over the case in January after Logan police called him, court records show.
Logan officers initially investigated a child-abuse report involving a 9-year-old boy who said he saw a possible sex act involving the girl. The boy told school staff the abuse occurred during a party where numerous people, including his father, used cocaine.
The boy said he looked through a bedroom window that faced parked vehicles and saw Roubieu and the girl inside a pickup. The boy said everyone at the party knew the girl was 14 years old and had discussed it.
Martinez later attended a forensic interview with the girl at the Oasis Children’s Advocacy Center in Clovis. She identified Roubieu as her boyfriend and acknowledged she had sex with him at least twice at her residence in Tucumcari.
Using search warrants, Logan police and a DA’s investigator seized five cell phones that belonged to the girl, Roubieu and three other adults at the party. Investigators acquired text messages between the girl and Roubieu from Jan. 17 to Jan. 21 that indicated sex acts with each other and intimate photographs. Another text message to Roubieu came from an adult who criticized him for having sex with the girl.
During an interview March 2 at the Logan Police Department, Roubieu confessed to a sexual relationship with the girl, including inside his truck during the party, records show.
“Mr. Roubieu admitted to knowing (the girl) was only fourteen (14) years old during their relationship. Mr. Roubieu said he loved (her) and didn’t see anything wrong with it because he loved her,” Martinez wrote in his affidavit.
Roubieu was booked into the Quay County Detention Center on March 24 on a no-bond hold. No attorney was listed for him in online court records.