A 21-year-old Hailey man has been charged with rape for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old Bellevue girl. It is the second time in two years that Mauro Z. Nuñez has been accused of having sex with an underage teen.
Judge R. Ted Israel ordered the new case bound over to 5th District Court for further prosecution at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing Monday in Blaine County Magistrate Court. Nuñez has also been charged with probation violation in the earlier case.
He remained incarcerated Tuesday in the Blaine County jail on $75,000 bond.
The new case was filed against Nuñez on Nov. 13 following an investigation by the Hailey Police Department. A probable cause affidavit filed by police Lt. Steve England alleges that Nuñez had sexual intercourse with the girl at Nuñez's parents' home on Winterhaven Drive on Oct. 23.
England wrote that the girl "admitted that she felt as though she was forced to have sex with Mauro." England quoted the girl as saying: "I was scared he wouldn't bring me home, and he's a lot bigger than me, and I was scared that he would hurt me or something."
Nonetheless, England wrote that the girl admitted to willingly meeting with Nuñez on the night of the alleged rape and to willingly accompanying him to his parents' home.
England wrote that Nuñez had met the girl several weeks earlier at a party. The two began exchanging text messages and finally agreed to meet the evening of Oct. 22, the affidavit states.
England reported that the girl sneaked out of her parents' home in Bellevue and met Nuñez, who "drove them straight to his parents' house." He stated that Nuñez had the girl initially wait outside before letting her into the home through his bedroom window. England wrote that Nuñez and the girl watched movies prior to the alleged sex act.
He further wrote that the girl was initially reluctant to talk about the situation because she was "scared of what he (Nuñez) might do."
The earlier case dates back to November 2007, when Nuñez, who was then 19, was charged with rape for having sexual intercourse with another 15-year-old Bellevue girl. Court records state that the girl was intoxicated at the time.
Nuñez pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony injury to a child in accord with a plea agreement with the Idaho Attorney General's Office, which prosecuted the case because of a potential conflict of interest in the Blaine County court.
At sentencing in July 2008, Judge Robert J. Elgee sentenced Nuñez to 90 days in jail and three years probation. The sentence was less than what the Attorney General's Office requested.
Deputy Attorney General Chris Topmiller asked then that Nuñez be sentenced to 180 days at the North Idaho Correctional Facility in Cottonwood where treatment and rehabilitation programs are available.
A pre-sentence investigation completed prior to sentencing concluded that Nuñez was a "moderate risk" to re-offend.
As a condition of probation, Nuñez was not to be in the company of minor females without supervision.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Mauro Z. Nunez
