Child date rape case moving forward in Superior Court

Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Kenneth Ray Sandoval, 19, has been charged with sexual conduct with a minor and sexual assault.

By Jon Johnson

jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com

SAFFORD – Two years after the incident allegedly took place, the child date rape case against Kenneth Ray Sandoval, 19, is moving forward in Graham County Superior Court.

Sandoval, who was 17 when the offense was allegedly committed, is charged with sexual assault and sexual conduct with a minor. He is being held on a $500,000 bond. Sandoval was scheduled to appear in front of Graham County Superior Court Judge Michael D. Peterson on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.  

The rape allegedly took place Aug. 24, 2018, but the Graham County Attorney’s Office waited until DNA evidence from the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Crime Lab was returned before proceeding. The DNA lab report showed positive for Sandoval’s DNA inside the victim’s genital area. Charges were officially filed Dec. 12, 2019, and an arrest warrant was issued Dec. 16, 2019. Sandoval was eventually taken into custody on July 17, 2020, and Dennis McCarthy was appointed as his attorney. Sandoval waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Justice of the Peace District 2, and the case was bound over to Graham County Superior Court, where Sandoval was arraigned Aug. 4.   

Since the alleged victim was 14 at the time of the incident, it is considered a dangerous crime against a child and even if it gets plead down to an “attempted” sexual conduct charge and the assault is dismissed, Sandoval still faces a sentencing structure of 5 to 15 years in prison.  

According to police reports from the Graham County Sheriff’s Office and Pima Police Department, Sandoval allegedly had sex with the girl at a house party while she was passed out after consuming alcohol and cannabis the night of Aug. 24, 2018. The victim left the house after the assault and informed her mother, who called the authorities.

The victim advised that she passed out in a bedroom at the party and woke up to Sandoval being naked on top of her and that she had been undressed without her knowledge. After initially pushing him off, she said Sandoval and other people at the party convinced her nothing had happened and she once again fell asleep. She then woke up with Sandoval next to her again and said her genital area hurt. She then left the party and sought out her mother.

Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: The case is being tried in Graham County Superior Court.

A forensic examination later conducted at Lori’s Place in Sierra Vista cited two tears around the opening of the victim’s vagina and diagnosed the girl as a victim of sexual assault.

A Graham County deputy located Sandoval the night of the incident at the residence in Central where the incident took place, naked and asleep on a bed except for socks on his feet.

After initially denying any sexual activity occurred, Sandoval allegedly told investigators that he did have unprotected sex with the girl but that she was awake the entire time and they were both drunk. He also reportedly said that the girl is larger in stature than he is and could have overpowered him if she had wanted the sexual activity to not take place.

Regardless if the victim was awake or passed out drunk as she assessed, a 14-year-old cannot give consent for sexual activity. And even though Sandoval was only 17 at the time of the offense as well, it is still considered a dangerous crime against children.