Former Logan man pleads in teen-sex case

A 34-year-old former Logan resident faces three years in prison after accepting a plea deal last week in connection with allegations he had sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Joshua Lee Roubieu, 34, listed in online court records as now living in Aztec, pleaded guilty in Tucumcari district court to two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child and one count of criminal sexual communication with a child. All were fourth-degree felonies that could lead to 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,000.

In exchange for the plea, one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor by force or coercion and one count of enticement of a child were dismissed.

According to online court records, District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. said Roubieu would be sentenced to 4? years in the Department of Corrections with a three-year cap. He is required to make a $100 donation to the Quay County Domestic Violence Program, submit a DNA sample to the state’s database and pay a $100 fee.

He also may be required to register as a sex offender.

Roubieu’s formal sentencing will be Jan. 5.

Roubieu, listed as residing in Logan earlier this year, was arrested March 24 after a probe by New Mexico State Police investigator Andrew Martinez.

According to the initial complaint, Logan officers 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 alleged abuse occurred during a party.

The boy said he looked through a bedroom window and saw Roubieu and the girl inside a pickup truck. The boy said everyone at the party knew the girl was 14 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 an investigator for the district attorney’s office seized cell phones that belonged to the girl, Roubieu and three other adults at the party. Investigators found text messages between the girl and Roubieu from Jan. 17 to Jan. 21, 2020, 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.

Roubieu also admitted in the plea deal he sent obscene images to the girl through Facebook Messenger and had sex with her on Dec. 1, 2019, and on Jan. 3, 2020.

During an interview at the Logan Police Department, Roubieu confessed to a sexual relationship with the girl, including an act 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 an affidavit.

Roubieu was represented by public defender Anna Aragon, who declined to comment when reached by phone at her office Monday.