Las Cruces city staffer charged with 25 counts of child sexual assault. Here's the latest.

Justin Garcia, Las Cruces Sun-News
Updated ·2 min read
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A judge ordered a child sexual assault case to be sealed after police charged a city of Las Cruces digital media manager with over two dozen sexual assault crimes against children.

Dominic Aragon, 38, stands charged with 16 counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor in varying degrees and nine counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. Aragon was arrested on Sept. 20 in El Paso, Texas. He remains in the Doña Ana County Detention Center as of this article’s publication. However, the details of the allegations are unclear.

Third Judicial District Judge Conrad Perea sealed the case on Sept. 7, according to online court filings, which were removed from public access around 9 a.m. on Sept. 21.

New Mexico law stipulates that a judge may not seal a case simply because both parties agree to seal. Instead, the judge must find that:

  • “The existence of an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the court record.

  • The overriding interest supports sealing the court record.

  • A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the court record is not sealed.

  • The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored.

  • And no less restrictive means exist to achieve the overriding interest.”

City confirms Aragon's termination

“We have been fully cooperative with police for their investigation. As soon as we were notified of his arrest, we began processing his termination,” Mandy Guss, the director of communication and Aragon’s former manager, said in an email.

According to his LinkedIn page, Aragon worked for the city of Las Cruces for over 16 years. A New Mexico State University graduate in 2008, Aragon started as a media production specialist before becoming a digital media manager in January 2023.

In that role, Aragon managed the city’s social media pages and responded to media inquiries if other communication staff were unavailable.

Guss also said that, as far as the city knew, none of the allegations occurred on city property or used city resources.

Justin Garcia covers public safety and local government in Las Cruces. He can be reached via email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com, via phone or text at 575-541-5449, or on Twitter @Just516Garc.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Former Las Cruces staffer charged with child sexual assault crimes