Former New Mexico State Police officer sentenced for sexual assault of a minor
A former New Mexico State Police officer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the sexual assault of a minor.
Ronald Jackson, 55, was sentenced Wednesday by Third Judicial District Judge Richard Jacquez after a Las Cruces jury found Jackson guilty of one count of criminal sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13 in the first degree in May.
May's conviction was the second jury trial on the charge against Jackson. Jacquez declared a mistrial in May 2023 for the same charge based on jury disagreement, but the order allowed the District Attorney to retry the case.
In April of 2020, Jackson was accused of assaulting a 14-year-old. The victim was in the fourth grade when the assaults began and continued for two years. The victim reported all of the incidents because she felt that Jackson was stalking her on her social media.
During the investigation, Las Cruces Police Department detectives found that NMSP had fired Jackson for inappropriate behaviors with female coworkers. He was terminated from a correctional facility job for inappropriately touching and allegedly raping a female inmate. A charge of rape against Jackson based on that incident was dropped after the woman died while incarcerated.
When Jackson completes his sentence in prison he will be on parole and he must register as a sex offender.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Former NM State Police officer sentenced for child rape
