A 41-year-old Anthony, New Mexico man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to a charge involving a minor under 13, with prosecutors saying they sought the sentence because of the seriousness of the crime and the harm it caused. Alfredo A. Salazar-Rios pleaded no contest to second-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor under 13 and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
The sentence, confirmed by the Las Cruces District Attorney's Office, matched the highest recommendation permitted under Salazar-Rios's plea agreement, according to KTSM. Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Willson said his office pushed for that outcome specifically because of how severe the crime was. “We asked for a 15-year sentence because of the seriousness of this crime and the harm it caused,” Willson said, according to the station's report.
Willson added that the sentence holds Salazar-Rios accountable for the seriousness and harm of the crime, and said that while no sentence can undo the harm done, the outcome still serves justice. Las Cruces District Attorney Fernando Macias said every child deserves a safe place to grow up and a community that looks out for them.
Investigation Traced Back to a Disclosure in March 2025
The Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office investigated the case after one of the girls told her mother about abuse she said had happened years earlier, according to KFOX14. That disclosure surfaced in March 2025. The outlet reported that an arrest affidavit alleged Salazar-Rios sexually abused two girls, with one of them saying the abuse began when she was about 4 years old.
Reporting on the timing of the plea itself has not lined up across outlets. KTSM reported that Salazar-Rios entered his no-contest plea on July 15, while Noticias El Paso reported the plea was entered on July 21. The discrepancy has not been independently resolved.
Booked Without Bond at Doña Ana County Detention Center
Jail records show Salazar-Rios was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond as of Friday, per KVIA. The sex offender registration requirement was ordered by the court, according to the Third Judicial District Attorney's Office's account relayed through KFOX14's reporting.
No additional details about further sentencing conditions have been made public. The case remains notable locally for how long it took the allegations to surface, with the abuse described in the affidavit as having begun years before the March 2025 disclosure that set the investigation in motion.
