Jury finds man guilty of lewd conduct with 13-year-old

BLACKFOOT – A jury convicted a Pingree man of lewd conduct charges on Wednesday.

Hugo Gonzalez Vazquez, 37, was found guilty by a jury after a two-day trial regarding two felony charges of lewd conduct with a child under 16.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by District Judge Darren Simpson on July 10.

Vazquez is also charged in another case with two more felony counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16. He is scheduled to attend a jury trial for that matter on May 23.

According to a news release from Bingham County Chief Deputy Prosecutor, Ryan W. Jolley, Vazquez was sentenced for two counts on Wednesday for the abuse of one 13-year-old.

On June 17, 2022, a woman arrived at the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office and reported that multiple of her relatives, all minors, had been sexually abused by Vazquez.

Police reports indicate there are four total victims.

A forensic interview was conducted for the first victim – the one Vazquez was convicted of abusing – on June 30. During the interview, the 13-year-old told the interviewer the abuse started in May 2021, and always occurred at Vazquez’s home in Bingham County.

According to the victim, the abuse started with inappropriate touching and kissing, but soon escalated to her being raped “every day, every night, all the time.”

The victim also told investigators that Vazquez would “check her out of school after lunch, or keep her home from school to rape her, or make her go to work with him because of his lack of trust that she would tell someone about the abuse,” according to court documents.

According to police reports, the victim missed 282 class periods during the 2021-2022 school year.

The victim then described the last abusive experience she encountered with Vazquez, saying he checked her out of school around June 16, 2022. The victim asked if she could be dropped off with another relative, and Vazquez became angry.

Vazquez then slapped her three times in the face, “took her to his room, and did stuff to her there.”

Vasquez told the victim if she ever told anybody about the abuse, he would “kill her cat, hurt her siblings, hurt her mom, or her mom’s family,” according to court documents.

In one circumstance, the victim says she told Vazquez no when he attempted to assault her, so he kicked her cat across the room. The victim was then raped.

The second victim, also a minor but her age is not clear, sat down with investigators for a forensic interview later that day, where she disclosed that she had been abused by Vazquez too.

This victim said after she was raped by Vazquez, he would give her $5 and tell her not to tell anyone about the abuse.

She also told investigators that herself and other the victims were often “hit on the back of the legs with a belt” causing their skin to be “ripped off.”

On July 5, 2022, a third victim participated in a forensic interview, this time an 8-year-old boy.

The victim told the interviewer that Vazquez was violent toward animals, describing an incident where he picked up a puppy and “kicked it out of the car” before running it over. The victim also said Vazquez shot one of his pet dogs.

The boy told investigators that Vazquez would often “whip him” with the belt. When asked why he did not tell anyone, he said that Vazquez threatened that he would shoot his mom if the boy told anyone about the abuse.

The fourth victim, a 10-year-old girl, told investigators that she was also “whipped” by Vazquez.

In one instance, Vazquez spilled coffee in a chair and told her that if she didn’t clean it up in 30 seconds, she would be whipped.

The victim says she wasn’t quick enough, and Vazquez began whipping her. She was then forced to take a cold shower and was whipped again afterwards.

She also told investigators that Vazquez would pay “clown music” and put on “scary clown movies to scare them.” He would also “turn off all the lights and play hide and seek” to scare them, according to the victim.

All four victims were sent to Portneuf Medical Center for full body examinations. Medical staff told the deputies that all of them showed “scarring on their bodies from what they described as being whipped by (Vazquez) with a belt.”

Vazquez was arrested on Sept. 27, 2022 and a bond was set for $100,000 which he posted.

According to a criminal complaint document, Vazquez could face life in prison.