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Friday, Mar 29th

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Child sex abuser sentenced to 12.5 years in prison

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ALBUQUERQUE – William Detwiler, 68, who resides in Vanderwagen, N.M. was sentenced Feb. 7 in federal court here, to 150 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on child sexual abuse and kidnapping charges.

Detwiler, an Anglo man, will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

Detwiler, who has a prior conviction for criminal sexual contact with a minor, was arrested on May 31, 2016, on a four-count indictment, charging him with two counts of aggravated child sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping.

According to the indictment, Detwiler kidnapped an Indian child under the age of 16 years and sexually abused the victim on two occasions between November 2013 and June 2014.

Before he was charged in federal court, he was charged in state court on two separate occasions on sexual molestation charges and kidnapping.

In the first case, according to New Mexico court records, he pleaded guilty and was given 18-months’ probation.

The second case was dismissed when it was revealed that the bus stop where the student was kidnapped was on the Navajo Reservation. This is the case that Detwiler has now been sentenced.

On Aug. 11, 2016, Detwiler pled guilty to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact and kidnapping.  In entering the guilty plea, Detwiler admitted that in November 2013, he engaged in sexual contact with the victim and acknowledged that the victim was under the age of 16 years.

Detwiler further admitted that on a date between Aug. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2014, he kidnapped a different Indian child under the age of 16 years.