An Albuquerque, New Mexico man accused of sexually assaulting six children, five of whom he allegedly infected with sexually transmitted diseases, faces several charges filed in Santa Fe County.
30-year-old Anthony Padilla is accused of raping children from two families, one in Albuquerque and one in Española, court records show.
Prosecutors in the 2nd Judicial District in Bernalillo County initially charged him with six counts of first-degree criminal sexual penetration in October 2019 in connection with allegations he had assaulted three children in Rio Rancho. The case is pending.
Padilla’s attorney said the case has proceeded slowly due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Allegations of abuse by Padilla emerged after the Rio Rancho children’s mother became concerned about a health condition in her 3-year-old daughter, according to court records. The girl, her 8-year-old sister and 1-year-old brother tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases, records show.
The woman said Padilla was a childhood friend and “couch surfer” whom she had allowed to stay at her home. He had watched her children while she was at work in July and August 2019, she said.
Two Española children, a 2- and 3-year-old who are related to Padilla, also tested positive for gonorrhea and chlamydia at the time, according to court records.
The sixth child, an 8-year-old girl from Española who also is related to Padilla, did not test positive for the illnesses but told investigators Padilla had been raping her and having sex with adults in front of her since 2015, when she was 4, records say.
Charges against Padilla involving these children — six counts of criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact and bribery of a witness — were filed in Santa Fe County under a pending plea agreement designed to resolve all the charges he faces, said his public defender, Cherylinn Gunning.
Padilla has been in custody since October 2019, when 2nd Judicial District Judge Charles Brown found him too dangerous to be released and granted prosecutors’ motion asking he be kept in jail until the charges against him are resolved.
He is an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque.
The terms of Padilla’s pending plea have not been made publicly available. Second Judicial District Judge Cindy Leos is scheduled to consider the agreement at an April 28 hearing.
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