Man charged with 1st-degree child abuse after allegedly leaving injured teen in desert following ATV crash
A man faces a 1st-degree child abuse charge after allegedly leaving an injured teen in the desert and taking a vehicle following an ATV crash, according to court records.
Court records allege 17-year-old suffered severe leg injury; judge later sets release conditions
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - A 19-year-old man is facing a 1st-degree felony child abuse charge after allegedly leaving an injured teenage girl in the desert following an ATV crash in Santa Teresa, according to court records.
Oscar Sosa was arrested in connection with the April 10 incident, which investigators say began when he picked up a 17-year-old girl in Sunland Park and took her into a desert area on an all-terrain vehicle.
According to a statement of probable cause, the ATV later crashed into a tree, leaving the girl with a severe open wound to her leg that exposed bone. She was transported to University Medical Center in El Paso for treatment.
Investigators allege Sosa left the injured girl at the scene and walked away into the surrounding desert area before later taking a vehicle from a nearby residence and leaving the area.
According to the affidavit, Sosa told investigators he did not know the girl before picking her up and said he approached her because he found her "good looking." He also told investigators the two had been drinking alcohol while riding the ATV. He initially claimed he had been robbed in the desert by a group of migrants and that his ATV had been taken, but later recanted that account, according to the filing.
A criminal complaint filed April 13 charges Sosa with abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm, a 1st-degree felony, along with additional charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
A judge found probable cause in the case and set conditions for Sosa’s release on personal recognizance, according to court records. As of Monday afternoon, he remained listed as detained at the Doña Ana County Detention Center.
Sosa is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination on May 27 in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court.
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.
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