A local man was recently arrested for allegedly touching a child inappropriately while he was refereeing a youth basketball game.
Gallup Police Officer Aaron Marquez was dispatched to the Larry Brian Mitchell Recreation Center, 400 Marguerite Franco Dr., on Feb. 4 around 10:30 am when a man called police and said that a referee, who was identified as Glenn Mayes, had repeatedly touched his son’s butt.
The concerned father told Marquez that he was watching his son play basketball, and at one point a foul occurred in the game. The man said his son fouled another kid, and as his son was walking away Mayes walked up to him and allegedly slapped him on the butt. The child reportedly told Mayes not to touch him in that way, but the man kept following the kid. He allegedly put his hand on the kid’s back and then slid his hands down to tap the boy’s butt again.
The man said his son smacked Mayes’s hand and told him to not touch him again.
According to Marquez’s report, Mayes continued to follow the young boy and kept touching his butt.
The boy’s father said his son eventually ran up to him crying and said that Mayes was touching him inappropriately. The man said he told Mayes not to touch his son, but then he and his son were kicked out of the gym. According to the man, Mayes was still inside referring the game after he and his son had been kicked out.
When Marquez went inside to talk to Mayes, he claimed not to know what the officer was talking about.
Marquez arrested Mayes and placed him in handcuffs. As he was escorting him outside to his police car, Mayes saw the young boy and his father. According to Marquez’s report, when Mayes saw the young boy, he chuckled and smirked and said “It wasn’t even like that.”
After placing Mayes in his police car Marquez went back inside the recreation center to talk to other employees. One employee said she saw that there was an altercation during the basketball game involving a boy in a red jersey, but she said she didn’t see Mayes touch the boy.
Another referee for the game told Marquez that he didn’t see Mayes touch the boy inappropriately.
He said that one of the coaches was getting upset that fouls were not being called for his players. The coach allegedly continued to argue, and Mayes told him to calm down.
The game continued, and a foul occurred. The referee said he saw Mayes go up to the child in question and pat him on the lower back. The child allegedly just stood there, and that’s when the coach yelled “don’t touch my kid like that.”
The referee said the child put his head down, and Mayes went over to comfort him again. He reportedly patted him on the back again, but the referee said he didn’t touch his butt.
The referee said parents began to get upset, accusing Mayes of touching the child inappropriately. He said he asked the coach and family to leave.
Marquez asked the recreation center managers for camera footage of the game, but there wasn’t any.
Marquez arrested Mayes for criminal sexual contact of a minor. His preliminary examination had not been scheduled by press time.
Staff Reports
