Man faces multiple felonies after alleged lewd and violent conduct with children
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BLACKFOOT — A 37-year-old Pingree man is facing multiple charges after allegedly sexually assaulting minors and having violent interactions with them.
Hugo Gonzalez Vazquez has two cases against him that were filed in September and October in Bingham County.
In one case filed against him, he was charged with two felony counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16. Both charges are punishable by up to life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. In the other case filed against him, he faces the same two charges.
According to a news release from the Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office sent on Thursday, Vazquez was bound to district court following contested preliminary hearings in both cases. The court found probable cause on all four counts.
According to the affidavit of probable cause that was filed in both cases by the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, a relative reported that Vazquez had sexually abused two girls. She reported it in June.
After interviews, it was discovered that four children were involved in the case.
A detective sat in on a forensic interview with one of the girls, who is 13 years old. The teen told the interviewer that she remembered the abuse started in May 2021 through June 2022. It happened at Vazquez’s house in Bingham County.
She reported he touched her inappropriately and she was very uncomfortable. She was scared to report it because he had always threatened her. She said he would check her out of school or take her home from school to rape her or make her go to work with him because of his lack of trust that she would tell someone about the abuse.
School records show she missed 282 class periods during the 2021 to 2022 school year, according to documents.
Documents detail more sexual abuse with another child. Then, another child explained Vazquez was violent towards animals. He said Vazquez got upset with the dog and kicked it out the front door like a soccer ball. The dog was yelping in pain and Vasquez ran over the dog with a car and “did not care,” documents said.
Medical examinations were done on four children, according to court documents. The examinations showed scarring on their bodies from what the kids described as injuries from being whipped by Vazquez. There was also scarring from other incidents, including possible cuts with razor blades.
Between both cases, he has a $200,000 bond. He is scheduled for an arraignment in front of District Judge Darren Simpson on Jan. 3 at 1 p.m. at the Bingham County courthouse.