Former Logan resident fails to report to jail

A former Logan resident who last month was sentenced to having underage sex with a girl found himself in more trouble when he failed to report to the county jail at the required time.

Joshua Roubieu, 35, was arrested Wednesday evening on a bench warrant from District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. after he failed to report as required to the Quay County Detention Center by 6 a.m. Feb. 9, according to online court documents. The warrant stated Roubieu’s conditions of release should be revoked or reviewed.

According to jail booking logs, Roubieu was jailed on a felony count of contempt of court. He remained in custody at the jail Monday morning. A status hearing on Roubieu’s case is scheduled for March 23.

Roubieu in January was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in the Department of Corrections and must register as a sex offender after accepting a plea deal in the case. Mitchell sentenced Roubieu to consecutive 18-month prison terms on each of three counts but suspended two years of that time.

Roubieu accepted the deal in December to plead guilty to two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child and one count of criminal sexual communication with a child. In exchange, one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor by force or coercion and one count of enticement of a child were dismissed.

Roubieu was arrested March 24 after a probe by New Mexico State Police investigator Andrew Martinez.

According to the initial complaint, Logan police officers investigated a child-abuse report involving a boy who said he saw a possible sex act involving a 14-year-old girl. The boy told school staff the alleged abuse occurred during a party. The boy said everyone at the party knew the girl was 14 and had discussed that.

Martinez 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.

Using search warrants, Logan police and an investigator for the district attorney’s office seized cellphones 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 admitted 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 a sex act inside his truck during the party, records show.

Public defender Anna Aragon represented Roubieu in the initial case but it wasn’t clear whether she was defending him with the new charge.