Arroyo rapist a Gallup man?
Local resident charged with 2005 Albuquerque sexual assaults

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — Police arrested a 34-year-old Gallup man and Med-Star employee this morning in connection with a string of Albuquerque sexual assaults in 2005.

Authorities suspect Genaro Sandoval, of Mentmore, is the “Arroyo rapist” who lured young boys into ditches and assaulted them. The case remained unsolved until now.

Sgt. Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, confirmed the arrest and said local police assisted with the operation. DNA reportedly linked Sandoval to the crimes.

Authorities have taken Sandoval to an Albuquerque Detention Center where he will remain until he is arraigned on the charges.

Toadlena-Pablo said detectives worked on the case from late last night until about 6 this morning.

John Walsh, a public information officer for the Albuquerque Police Department, said he will release information to the Independent about the arrest this afternoon.

“All of my detectives are still on the road,” Walsh said.
He plans to host a news conference about the arrest in Albuquerque at about 2:30 p.m.

Sandoval is no stranger to local police. He was arrested in November 2005 on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The parents of a 13-year-old boy complained to police that Sandoval had videotaped their child in an inappropriate manor. A second child made similar allegations days later and said Sandoval lured him into his residence to look at paintball equipment.

Sandoval said the videotapes were made as a prank for a friend.

According to one of the boys, Genaro “asked them to take down their pants and underwear and shake their buttocks to the camera ... ,” according to police records.

The case resulted in a plea agreement; however, officials for the district attorney’s office were not immediately available to comment on the case.

Sandoval is currently an employee of Med-Star Ambulance in Gallup.

Dannette Leggitte, operations manager for Med-Star Ambulance, said Sandoval had no contact with children and strictly worked in an office setting.

“He does not work on the ambulance,” Leggitte said. “ ... He pushes papers.”

She said Sandoval will no longer be employed with the business, if the allegations are true. Med-Star Ambulance continued to employee Sandoval following his local arrest in 2005 per their attorney’s advice, she said.

“We were told everything was in the appeals process. We were waiting until that process was complete,” Leggitte said.