Sex offender accused of groping girls at ABQ mall
Suspect allegedly grabbed preteens shopping with relatives at Coronado
A registered sex offender is in custody after police say he walked around Coronado Center over the holiday weekend, groping young girls as they shopped with relatives.
Michael Chavarria, 47, is charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers responded to a fight at the shopping center in Uptown Albuquerque around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Police say they took Chavarria, who gave officers a fake name, into custody.
Detectives learned the fight began after Chavarria groped an 11-year-old girl inside Claire’s jewelry shop.
Police say the girl was in the store with her family, looking at necklaces, when Chavarria came up behind, grabbed her rear end and said, “Hey sweetheart.”
The girl told detectives it made her feel “violated” and, visibly upset, she started crying.
Detectives were then alerted to two other girls at the mall who said they had been touched and followed by Chavarria.
One of the girls, an 11-yearold, told detectives she was shopping with her mother when Chavarria came up behind her. Police say Chavarria said “Oh, my God” before touching her rear end.
The girl told detectives she thought it was accidental and didn’t tell her family at first.
Chavarria allegedly followed her to three different stores until her mother confronted him, and he fled.
The complaint did not divulge the third girl’s age or allegations.
Earlier this year, on Aug. 3, police arrested Chavarria on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse and burglary after he stole from Highland High School students during band practice, according to court documents. Police say that when confronted by the students, Chavarria pulled out two knives. He threw one of the knives at a student, missing, and punched a young girl in the chest. The state dismissed the charges in November, but they could be refiled later.
Court records show Chavarria is a registered sex offender from California who was sentenced to six years in prison for lewd and lascivious acts upon a child in 2001.
After moving to New Mexico, Chavarria failed to keep up with his required registrations as a sex offender and was charged with failure to comply with sex offender registration laws in October.