Austin Cox. Photo Courtesy Facebook
BY MAIRE O’NEILL
Caution: The following story includes content which may be disturbing to some readers.
A 27-year old Los Alamos man was arrested Wednesday morning by Los Alamos Police Department on 30 charges related to time he allegedly spent with a 15-year old girl at his home.
Austin Lee Cox was charged with:
- 12 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a 13-16 year old;
- 10 counts of criminal sexual penetration – oral;
- 1 count of criminal sexual penetration – anal ;
- 3 counts of trafficking a controlled substance;
- 4 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor by providing methamphetamine three times and beer once to a person under the age of 18
LAPD Cmdr. Oliver Morris confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Cox was taken into custody on an arrest warrant signed by Los Alamos Magistrate Judge Pat Casados while he was walking near his home on 34th Street. A search warrant was subsequently executed at Cox’s home, Morris said, however he declined to reveal what had been recovered at the residence.
According to Court documents filed by LAPD Det. Ryan Wolking, a 15-year old girl was brought to the police department Nov. 30 by her mother. When the teen was subsequently interviewed by Wolking she told him she met Cox outside the movie theater when she approached him and asked him for a cigarette as he was smoking outside the theater.
Wolking’s report indicates the victim had further contact with Cox at the “smokers’ corner” on Orange Street behind Los Alamos High School. From there she told Wolking she and Cox walked to his home and that while walking there she told him she was 15 years old and that Cox “acknowledged that and did not care”.
Once at his home, the victim told Wolking that Cox provided her with a beer and they had sexual intercourse. The report says the victim returned to Cox’s home the next day and had sexual relations multiple times. The victim told Wolking that she snorted methamphetamine with a dollar bill and smoked it with his glass methamphetamine pipe. The report indicates the victim told Wolking that Cox had methamphetamine in 4-inch baggies with purple dolphins on them in a briefcase.
Following the interview, the victim and her mother provided the victim’s cell phone to Wolking and voluntarily consented to allow the phone to be searched. With the help of the victim, Wolking contacted Cox by messaging him with the phone and pretending to be the victim. The report includes long conversations between Wolking and Cox where the Cox told “the victim” he really wanted to see her, believing her to be pregnant and made several declarations of love for her.
Wolking asked Judge Casados to sign the arrest warrant based on the fact that Cox had been recently arrested for possession of a controlled substance and had “clearly discussed providing methamphetamine” to the underage victim, that he had sex with someone he acknowledged was underaged in his messages, and that he had committed the alleged offenses while on pretrial conditions of release on an August charge of possession of a controlled substance.
While under those conditions of release, Cox failed a urinalysis at the Los Alamos Probation Office and while being taken into custody LAPD officers found a small baggie of methamphetamine in a cigarette case in his jacket pocket. Cox was released on his own recognizance with conditions of release also in that case. He is slated for status hearings Friday morning on the two possession cases.