Santa Fe man accused of child rape sentenced to probation [View all]

A Santa Fe painter and sculptor (Michael Gurule, 62) accused of raping a friend’s 10-year-old daughter pleaded no contest to reduced charges, including child abuse, and was sentenced to five years of probation as part of a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office.

Gurule had been charged with first-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child, third-degree criminal sexual contact with a minor, child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and enticement of a child in 2018. He was a family friend and often watched the girl while her single mother worked, a police report states.
He told the court he never intended to be the child’s “nanny” ...

The girl’s mother told investigators she started noticing a change in her daughter’s behavior and that her typically good grades began slipping. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, when the woman asked her daughter what was wrong, the girl said Gurule had been touching her inappropriately. The child drew images of Gurule sexually assaulting her and included dialogue indicating he refused to stop despite her pleas, reports state. Her mother told police her daughter wrote: “He says don’t tell anyone or else.”

When asked by state district Judge Jason Lidyard why he’d agreed to plead no contest to child abuse, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and enticement of a child if he wasn’t guilty of those crimes,
Gurule said he had lost business and was unable to teach his spin classes since the allegations ...

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-artist-accused-of-child-rape-pleads-to-lesser-charges-sentenced-to-probation/article_9541afca-09a8-11ec-bdcf-2bd5c20917c8.html