Published in the High Desert Advocate Newspaper in September 25th, 2020 Edition.
Christian Ochoa, 22 years-old from Elko, Nevada, sexual assault of a minor, (photo credit Elko County Sheriff’s Office).
An Elko man accused of sexually assaulting a minor a year ago was arrested Tuesday at a Northside residence, four days after a criminal complaint was filed against him.
According to an Elko County Sheriff detective’s unsworn declaration in support of the complaint, a 15-year-old girl messaged then 22-year-old Christian Ochoa on Sept. 18, 2019, asking if he would buy her alcoholic beverages. He replied that he would, and suggested that she sneak out of her house. She was picked up by Ochoa in a BMW and driven to a convenience store where he purchased drinks.
Ochoa then drove to a turnout on the edge of town where they both drank and the girl passed out. When she woke up she was wearing only sweatpants and sandals, and her underwear was missing, the detective stated.
Ochoa then drove the girl home, arriving at the same time as her parents who had been out looking for her.
“When she returned around 4:00 a.m. on the 19th of September her father fired shots at the BMW as it left the area after ignoring the father’s requests to stop and talk with him about what happened,” the detective wrote.
The girl knew Ochoa only as “LA Gambino” on Facebook Messenger.
The sheriff’s office used surveillance video from the convenience store, a recent wanted poster, and a recent accident report involving the BMW to identify him as Ochoa.
Subsequent DNA tests indicated that he had sexual intercourse with the girl, according to the detective.
Ochoa was charged on Sept. 11 with sexual assault on a child younger than 16, a Category A felony, and alternate counts of statutory sexual seduction and luring a child by means of a computer for engaging in sexual conduct.
He was also booked at Elko County Jail on a parole violation.
According to Elko County Jail records, Ochoa was arrested in April 2019 on charges of possessing, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle; buying, possessing or receiving stolen property; felony possession of a controlled substance; and trafficking a controlled substance.
His arrested was part of a two-week U.S. Marshals Service roundup in four Nevada counties.
According to Elko District Court records, he pleaded no contest in July to conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, grand larceny, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. He was given a suspended sentence of 2-6 years in prison by District Judge Nancy Porter, and placed on probation Sept. 23, 2019.
Porter said this was Ochoa’s first criminal conviction and there was no information about an alleged sexual assault in his file at the time he was placed on probation.
He was arrested again in November 2019 and in January 2020 for violating terms of his probation, according to jail records.
