Artist arrested on suspicion of assaulting 10-year-old girl
A Santa Fe artist was arrested on suspicion of child molestation and sexual assault on Saturday, a police spokesman said.
Michael Gurule, 58, was charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor and criminal sexual contact of a minor after a 10-year-old girl came forward about events prior to and on May 26, when Gurule is accused of sexually assaulting her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Gurule was a family friend of the girl and often watched her while her single mother worked, the document states. Her mother told investigators she started noticing a change in her daughter’s behavior and her typically good grades slipping.
According to the arrest warrant, when the mother asked her daughter what was wrong, the girl told her Gurule had been touching her inappropriately. When pushed for details, the girl said it was too difficult to say because she was embarrassed and scared, the warrant states.
The 10-year-old ended up drawing different images of Gurule sexually assaulting her with dialogue showing his refusal to stop despite her pleas, reports state. At the end, her mother told police, her daughter wrote: “He says don’t tell anyone or else.”
On May 26, police reports say, he snuck up behind her, lowered her pants and sexually assaulted her.
On Friday, her mother took her to the Solace Crisis Treatment Center.
Gurule is a painter and sculptor and has a studio in a Canyon Road gallery. He was released on an unsecured appearance bond of $10,000 on Monday. Among his release conditions, Gurule must wear an ankle monitor, have no contact with minors, drink no alcohol and not possess firearms. A preliminary hearing in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court was set for July 18.