ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A convicted sex offender who has served prison time for child rape has been arrested again, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
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The Albuquerque Police Department said 42-year-old Joseph Lacour-Benavidez was found with two juvenile runaways in his home. Detectives who did the investigation and arrested him Thursday told KRQE they are glad the offender is off the streets.
“We found out stuff was going on with one of these juveniles. We arrested him today and charged him with a bunch of counts of CSP, exploitation of a child, just all kinds of stuff to try to keep him in jail to keep these children safe,” said Detective Byron Samora with the Albuquerque Police Department.
According to a criminal complaint, on Monday, police arrived at the home of Joseph Lacour-Benavidez, looking for two runaways, 14 and 11 years old. At the home, they found Lacour-Benavidez and his mother, along with the girls who had run away from a foster home.
Benavidez admitted to having sexual relations with the 14-year-old and said they were inappropriately texting each other. He told detectives his girlfriend introduced him to the 14-year-old. Benavidez is a registered sex offender for the rape of a 12-year-old back in 2002. After serving prison time in that case, he pleaded guilty in 2017 to child solicitation for trying to get a teen to send him nude pictures by text.
“Since this individual was not on probation, the law does not permit them to hand over their electronics to be monitored by law enforcement. With that being said, we’d like to take a proactive approach to remind parents, guardians, and those who are overseeing children that they’re monitoring and educating their juveniles on things like this,” said Lt. Erica Lowry with the Special Victims Section at APD.
At this time, it is not believed that the 11-year-old child was the victim of a sexual assault.
Benavidez was arrested Thursday and is locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center. APD said more people could face charges as the investigation is ongoing. Benavidez faces rape charges, along with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving the 14-year-old meth.