Justices rejected Rafael Arias' bid for a new trial after his daughter recanted her testimony, finding that concerns about possible outside influence supported the trial court's ruling.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

SANTA FE - The New Mexico Supreme Court on Friday upheld six child sex crime convictions against a Doña Ana County man, ruling that a district judge properly denied his request for a new trial after his daughter recanted her testimony.

In a unanimous decision issued Nov. 13, the justices rejected challenges brought by Rafael Arias, who was convicted in 2021 of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13, two counts of second-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor.

The court concluded that the district judge did not abuse his discretion in rejecting the recantation, that improper testimony from a prosecution expert did not require reversal and that sufficient evidence supported the jury's verdict.

The decision, written by Justice Briana H. Zamora, affirms an earlier ruling by the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

Recanted testimony raises questions

According to the Supreme Court's decision, Arias' daughter testified during his 2021 trial about multiple incidents of sexual abuse that occurred when she was in elementary school.

A grand jury originally indicted Arias on 11 charges, including criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact, child abuse and incest. Five charges were dismissed after the parties presented their cases, and the jury convicted him on the remaining six.

At an initial sentencing hearing, however, his daughter testified that her accusations had been false.

Arias sought a new trial based on the recantation, arguing that it constituted newly discovered evidence.

The Third Judicial District Court held two hearings to evaluate the claim.

Prosecutors submitted summaries of recorded jail calls involving Arias and other individuals, arguing that the conversations suggested an effort to influence his daughter's testimony.

Although the district court did not admit the audio recordings themselves as evidence, Arias' attorney did not dispute the substance of the excerpts presented by prosecutors, according to the Supreme Court's decision.

The district court denied the motion for a new trial, finding that the recantation had occurred under suspicious circumstances and was not credible.

The Supreme Court agreed that the district judge had sufficient grounds to reach that conclusion.

The justices determined that the circumstances surrounding the recantation, including the jail calls, supported concerns about possible outside influence or collusion.

The ruling did not establish that Arias or another person committed a separate offense involving witness intimidation.

Court identifies errors but upholds verdict

The Supreme Court also examined whether the trial judge improperly concluded that the girl's original testimony had been corroborated by other evidence.

The justices determined that the original testimony was not corroborated by independent evidence presented at trial.

Only the daughter testified about the acts underlying Arias' convictions. An investigating detective described the investigation, while a clinical social worker testified generally about child sexual abuse and trauma.

No forensic evidence was presented at trial, according to the decision.

Although the Supreme Court concluded that the district court was wrong about corroboration, the justices found that the error did not require a new trial because other circumstances supported the determination that the recantation was not credible.

Arias also challenged testimony from the prosecution's clinical social worker, who told jurors she had never encountered a child who fabricated an allegation of sexual abuse and cited research suggesting that children generally tell the truth about such experiences.

The Supreme Court described the expert's comments as improper but concluded they did not rise to the level of plain error requiring reversal.

The justices noted that the witness had not met the girl or her family and had not directly expressed an opinion about whether her specific allegations were truthful.

The court nevertheless cautioned prosecutors about testimony that could improperly influence jurors' assessments of witness credibility.

Convictions remain in place

Arias separately argued that prosecutors failed to establish sufficient evidence supporting all six convictions, including whether the offenses occurred during the time period alleged in the indictment.

The Supreme Court rejected those arguments.

The justices concluded that the girl's original testimony sufficiently described the alleged acts, their frequency and the general period in which they occurred.

The decision leaves Arias' six convictions intact and affirms the district court's denial of his motion for a new trial.

The Supreme Court resolved the case through a nonprecedential decision, meaning it was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports.

The full decision in State v. Arias, No. S-1-SC-40904, is available through the New Mexico Compilation Commission.

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.