Nageezi man gets more than 10 years in prison for two sex assault convictions
Sex offender pleaded no contest in January
- Ernie Largo pleaded no contest to a fourth-degree felony count of criminal sexual contact and a second-degree felony count of criminal sexual penetration.
- Largo was sentenced to 10 years and six months in the New Mexico Department of Corrections.
- James Stackhouse, Largo's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.
FARMINGTON — A Nageezi man convicted of rape and criminal sexual contact has been sentenced to more than a decade in a state prison. One of his victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
Ernie Largo, 44, pleaded no contest on Jan. 29 to a fourth-degree felony count of criminal sexual contact in a 2016 case and a second-degree felony count of criminal sexual penetration in a 2018 case, according to a plea agreement.
Largo was sentenced to 10 years and six months in the New Mexico Department of Corrections during a May 6 hearing in Aztec District Court, according to San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O'Brien.
James Stackhouse, Largo's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.
O'Brien told The Daily Times that Chief District Court Judge Karen Townsend gave Largo the maximum sentence, with nine years for the second-degree felony and a year and six months for the fourth-degree felony.
He said Judge Townsend gave Largo the appropriate sentence.
Largo in his first case was charged with third-degree felony counts of criminal sexual penetration and aggravated battery, according to court documents.
The sex charge was reduced to criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree and the aggravated battery charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
A woman said Largo raped her on April 20, 2016, at the Rimrock Motel Lodge at 2530 Bloomfield Highway in Farmington, according to The Daily Times archives.
Largo and the woman had gone to a casino earlier in the evening and she said Largo became aggressive and told her he would get what he wanted.
The defendant in the second case was charged with a first-degree felony count of criminal sexual penetration, which was reduced to a second-degree felony in the plea agreement.
The woman told a nurse at San Juan Regional Medical Center she wanted to report the rape by Largo.
The woman said she had been drinking alcohol with Largo and thought he left the residence. She fell asleep then woke up and saw Largo wiping her with a sheet that was wet with blood.
She went to Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock for pain and was transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery.
Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.
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