Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Chris Chacon is facing 82 counts against him regarding repeated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 10 and is being held on a $5 million bond.
Bond set at $5 million
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A man who allegedly detailed the systematic sexual assault of a victim under the age of 10 has been incarcerated.
Chris James Chacon, 30, of Safford, was arrested April 29 and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and multiple counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child. Since then, the Graham County Attorney’s Office filed charges against Chacon on May 2 that included 40 counts of sexual conduct with a minor, 29 counts of molestation of a child, 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor.
Officers were alerted to the situation after the victim’s mother learned of a single incident and called the police after confronting Chacon.
During the ensuing investigation, both the victim and Chacon gave similar accounts of his systematic sexual abuse that had gone on for nearly a year. The abuse involved a variety of abhorrent sexual acts, some of which were captured by Chacon on his phone as pictures and videos, which he would later access and use to help him please himself, according to his alleged statements to police.
During his interview, Chacon advised he knew what he was doing was wrong but that he felt possessed.
Along with Chacon’s confession, officers collected a variety of evidence – including capturing previously deleted pictures and video from Chacon’s cell phone.
Chacon had his initial appearance in court May 3 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in front of Justice of the Peace District 1 Judge Gary Griffith on Wednesday, starting at 9:30 a.m. The hearing, if not simply outright waived, will show cause for the case and determine if it is bound over to Graham County Superior Court.
Chacon is being held on $5 million bond, cash or paper.
