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Thoreau man charged with rape

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A Thoreau man is now facing sexual assault charges after the victim’s mother reportedly rescued her daughter after she had been raped and beaten by the suspect.

Bryon Pahe, 28, has been charged with criminal sexual penetration, aggravated battery on a household member, assault to commit a serious felony, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property and interference with communication.

The victim’s mother came to the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office on June 6 to report that she had to rescue her daughter. She said he had picked her up two weeks before the incident and family members were not able to get in touch with her.

She said she was concerned for her daughter’s safety because she had been abused by Pahe in the past.

She finally went to where he lived to talk to her. When she got there, she found her daughter in bed with no clothes on. She had been beaten and bruised with blood all over her face. She said when she asked Pahe about what happened to her, he laughed and made no response.

She said she asked her daughter why she hadn’t called for an ambulance, but she had no response from her either. Pahe then picked her up and carried her to her mother’s car to be transported to the Gallup Indian Medical Center.

Deputy Jasmine Jaramillo said she went to the hospital and talked to the victim who told her that the day before they had bought two fifths of vodka and then went back to his mother’s house to drink it.

Everything was going okay, she said, until Pahe went to her phone and discovered that she had made a call to a man in prison. She said she told Pahe that the man was only a friend but he got upset and then broke her phone.

He then began hitting her repeatedly with his closed fist and when she went to the ground, she said he began kicking her repeatedly. She said she could not tell how many times she was hit because it’s just a blur and it happened so quickly.

She said midway through the beating, she gave him a bloody nose hoping that would stop him. Instead, he became ever more aggressive and continued beating her until she was in and out of consciousness.

Jaramillo said she asked her if she had been raped and it appeared she didn’t want to say anything. When she asked again, the victim reportedly responded, “Well, it wasn’t willingly.”

She told her account in short bursts of being choked and having her clothes removed forcibly. She said she was penetrated and yelled at him to stop but he kept going.

The victim appeared “scared, confused and shaken.”

She told Jaramillo that she didn’t call police because Pahe had broken her phone and she was helpless and her pain kept her from moving.

Jaramillo said her injuries were still very much visible. These included a swollen face and two black eyes, both of which were closed. She said she talked to the victim’s doctors who said she was constantly vomiting and may have suffered internal injuries but GIMC did not have the proper equipment to see what was going on with her internally.

The doctors added that GIMC also didn’t have a rape kit and this would also have to be done by an Albuquerque hospital.

Pahe was arrested the next day, according to officials in the sheriff’s office.

Pahe is being held at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center on a $100,000 cash surety bond. If he posts bond, he’ll be required to wear a GPS monitoring device.

Staff Reports