Alleged to have molested an 8-year-old girl after drugging her father, a convicted sex offender is set to face a jury of his peers starting next week.<\/p>\n
About 400 Montezuma County residents are expected to be summoned for jury duty on Monday, Jan. 5. The process of selecting a final panel of 12 jurors plus two alternates is expected to take several days.<\/p>\n
On trial, the defendant, Andrew Allmon, 55, of North State Street, faces life behind bars if convicted.<\/p>\n
A Montezuma County grand jury indicted Allmon on nine counts of child sexual assault and four drug charges. Under a $30,000 bond, reduced from an original $75,000 amount, the defendant has remained in custody at the Montezuma County jail since his arrest.<\/p>\n
Court records reveal the defendant allegedly committed the sexual assault offenses within six weeks of inviting a homeless family to move into his Cortez home. A convicted sex offender, Allmon allegedly abused the youngest of three daughters, an 8-year-old. Records show the defendant also allegedly drugged the father of the minor child with Oxycontin.<\/p>\n
The alleged victim reportedly told authorities during a forensics interview that Allmon not only touched her, but he also forced her to touch him. The mother testified at a grand jury hearing that Allmon was like a grandfather to the children.<\/p>\n
Allmon was previously convicted in 2008 on charges of false imprisonment and sexual assault of a minor in San Juan County N.M.<\/p>\n