Juan Pablo Delgado-Palma, 53, was arrested after a DNA match linked him to evidence collected nearly 13 years ago. A judge ordered him detained after hearing testimony from the woman who reported the assault as a teenager.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - A district judge has ordered a 53-year-old man held in custody pending trial in connection with a 2013 sexual assault involving a 16-year-old girl in Las Cruces, after investigators linked DNA evidence collected nearly 13 years ago to a sample obtained during an immigration detention in Albuquerque.

Juan Pablo Delgado-Palma was arrested Thursday, Oct. 29, and charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, a second-degree felony. Third Judicial District Attorney Fernando Macias announced Tuesday, Nov. 3, that the court had granted prosecutors' expedited motion for pretrial detention.

District Judge Richard M. Jacquez ordered Delgado-Palma held pending trial after hearing testimony from the woman who reported the assault. According to the district attorney's office, Jacquez found that Delgado-Palma posed a danger to the community and that no conditions of release would reasonably ensure the safety of others.

Assault reported on Christmas Day 2013

The investigation began Dec. 25, 2013, when a 16-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted near a park along Doña Ana Road in Las Cruces.

According to the district attorney's office, the girl told police she had walked to the park following an argument with her boyfriend. She reported waking in a ditch with a man on top of her, then losing consciousness again. When she regained consciousness, she walked to her parents' home and reported what had happened.

The girl told investigators she did not know the man but described him as Hispanic, in his 30s, with a hazy eye.

A sexual assault examination produced a DNA sample from the suspected attacker, which investigators submitted to the Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS. No match was initially identified, and the case remained unresolved for years.

DNA collected during immigration detention

The investigation advanced after authorities collected a DNA sample from Delgado-Palma in 2025 while he was detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Albuquerque.

According to Las Cruces police and the district attorney's office, the sample was entered into CODIS and matched DNA evidence collected during the original 2013 investigation.

Investigators then compared Delgado-Palma's physical characteristics with the description the girl had provided nearly 13 years earlier. During the detention hearing, an LCPD detective testified that Delgado-Palma's photo identification was consistent with that description, according to prosecutors.

Police arrested Delgado-Palma on Oct. 29, 2026.

Prosecutors seek continued detention

The district attorney's office filed an expedited motion seeking to keep Delgado-Palma in custody while the criminal case proceeds.

The court granted that motion after hearing testimony from the woman who reported the assault and considering evidence presented by prosecutors.

"The defendant has a pattern of violating the law and violating orders of the court," Chief Deputy District Attorney Heather Chavez said in the Nov. 3 announcement. "The evidence presented in court, supported by the victim's testimony, proves he is a danger to the community."

Chavez is prosecuting the case on behalf of the state following the Las Cruces Police Department's investigation.

The detention order concerns whether Delgado-Palma may be released before trial. It is not a determination of guilt.

Delgado-Palma is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.