Jury finds Acosta guilty

ALAMOSA—A jury this week found Adam Acosta, 40, Alamosa, guilty of sexual assault on a child.

The jury also found that Acosta used a threat of retaliation to accomplish or facilitate the sexual assault and that the sexual assault was committed as part of a pattern of sexual abuse. The jury also found him guilty of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and also found that that offense was part of a pattern of abuse.  

Sentencing is scheduled for April 21.

Acosta’s trial lasted the better part of the week in Alamosa. The victim in the case, who testified at the trial, was 8 at the time of the most recent incident, which occurred last February. She testified that Acosta threatened her not to tell anyone and that the February incident was not the first.

In another sexual assault trial this week, a jury hearing the case against Nathaniel Ferrell was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and a mistrial was declared Friday afternoon. Ferrell’s trial began on Tuesday and had to be held at Adams State University since there were not enough courtrooms available, and the Acosta trial was already underway.

District Judge Michael Gonzales had been handling both cases but when both went forward to trial at the same time, he presided over the Acosta trial and District Judge Pat Hayes presided over the Ferrell trial.
Ferrell, who was charged with sexual assault involving an adult victim, had previously been found guilty of a similar charge earlier this year.

His case is scheduled for March 28 to be reset for trial.