Elementary school volunteer turned Army recruiter charged with 107 counts of child sex abuse

A former elementary school volunteer who had been actively serving with the U.S. Army as a recruiter for the last 19 years has just been suspended from the Service pending the outcome of 107 counts of child sex abuse charges filed against him.  Prior to his being suspended, Antonio Francisco Marquez of Troutdale, Oregon, a 41-year-old father, was assigned to the Gresham Army Recruiting Station in Oregon and was also a former parent volunteer at Troutdale Elementary School.

Back in May, Marquez was charged with six counts of child sexual abuse in the first degree; but on December 28, a superseding indictment was filed against him charging him “with 26 counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, 35 counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, 44 counts of encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree and two counts of sodomy in the first degree,” according to Fox 12 News in Oregon.

Investigators say the suspect told them he had a “lapse in judgment,” though he’s since pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he faces.  ~ per KOMO News

Officials are saying that the 107 counts of sexual abuse lodged against Marquez involve three girls; and prosecutors are also saying that additional victims could be out there.  Prior to these charges, Marquez had a clean criminal record.

The victims were all girls under the age of 14 when the alleged abuse occurred, according to the attorney’s office. A grand jury in December heard from five additional witnesses who had not previously testified.

The superseding indictment alleges that Marquez on multiple occasions used all three victims in various displays of sexually explicit conduct to create visual records of child pornography. The alleged criminal activity occurred on different dates from Oct. 13, 2015 through May 11, 2018, the attorney’s office says.  ~ per KPTV

Court papers state that one of the minor girls told officials that Marquez molested her while she was staying the night at her best friend’s house.  The girl said that after she had gone to sleep, she was awakened by Marquez lifting her shirt and taking pictures of her.  The girl, younger than 14, said that he “photographed, touched and kissed” her.

Oregon Live reported that Marquez initially denied the abuse, but later “admitted that he did go into the room and that he had a lapse in judgment.”

Marquez is currently incarcerated on $15,970,000 bail. He should be back in court again on February 11 to face those 107 counts of child sexual abuse.  The case against Marquez is still under investigation. His charges to date break down like this:

• 26 counts of sexual abuse in the first degree
• 35 counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct
• 44 counts of encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree, and
• 2 counts of sodomy in the first degree

Anyone with any information about the case or other possible unidentified victims is asked to contact the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office at 503-988-0560.

~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter