Iyanbito man admits to touching 2-month-old

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Samuel King, 47, confessed Monday to masturbating while touching his 2-month-old daughter.

A witness walked past King’s car Monday about 10:30 a.m., while it was parked in front of the Department of Human Services on Gallup’s east side. The witness told police they he or she had seen King in the back seat, touching the infant, his other hand on his exposed penis.

That story differs only slightly from King’s confession, which was recorded on DVD, according to Gallup Police Detective Sgt. Matt Wright.

During a more than three-hour interview with Gallup Police Detectives Andrea Tsosie and Harold Littlefield, King “disclosed to Detective Littlefield that he touched his daughter ... while he rubbed his penis while it was in his pants,” according to the probable cause statement filed at magistrate court and signed by Gallup Police Officer Josie Bowman.

According to the statement, the witness told police he walked past the passenger side of the car, and made eye contact with King. He then doubled over, concealing the front of his pants.

“I caught a glimpse of what looked like a penis in his left hand, and I saw his right hand under a baby blanket and I saw the baby in the car seat,” the witness told police.

Police took the baby and her mother to Gallup Indian Medical Center for an exam.

“The doctor had advised that the child had a small scratch inside her private area and the exam was not a normal exam,” the probable cause statement reads.

King also has two adult daughters. Asked Thursday if police suspect this is not the first time, Wright said: “That would be something we’d look into. At this time, we can’t disclose yay or nay, because the investigation is ongoing.”

His priors listed with the state of New Mexico include two DWI arrests, a vehicle registration violation and an arrest in 1990 for public intoxication.

King listed his employer as Iyanbito Chapter House on the request for a public defender filed at magistrate court. He is charged with criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13 — a first-degree felony punishable by up to 18 years in prison.

Reporter Phil Stake can be reached at philip.stake@gmail.com, or by calling (505) 863-6811 x223.