A Socorro man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to abusing three children, with investigators saying the pattern of abuse stretched back more than a decade before he was caught. Thomas Abraham Drake, 39, admitted to three counts of sex abuse of a child or disabled person under 14 years of age, and his sentence is set to begin the same day he entered his plea.
According to court records cited by KFOX, Drake will receive credit for 342 days he already spent in jail before the sentencing. The outlet reports that his case began unraveling after a report surfaced in October 2025 alleging sexual abuse of a minor under 14, a claim investigators said they received at the time.
Investigation Traced Abuse Back to 2009
That October 2025 report set off a broader inquiry, and authorities said they ultimately found evidence that Drake had abused other children, with incidents dating back to 2009 and three victims in total, per the same KFOX account. The investigation led to Drake's arrest in December 2025, following what police described as a coordinated operation that led to his arrest on Dec. 6, according to a separate KFOX report from that time.
KTSM also covered the arrest, reporting that investigators uncovered evidence indicating that he had victimized two additional children in 2009, according to KTSM. The station's report at the time noted Drake was booked on three counts with a total bond of $250,000.
Case Now Closed With Guilty Plea
Nearly a year after his arrest, Drake's case concluded Thursday with the guilty plea and 25-year sentence. The timeline laid out across the reporting shows a case that moved from an initial report in October 2025, to arrest two months later, to a resolution more than a year after investigators first opened the file.
