Golden – A teenager told a Jefferson County jury Wednesday that a Denver sheriff’s deputy groped and fondled her in his pickup when he gave her a ride to work.
John Ray Luna, 47, faces two counts of sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and one count of attempted sex assault on a child.
The 15-year-old girl testified that Luna, her neighbor at the time, touched her buttocks and breast, tried to reach under her blouse and rubbed her leg on Jan. 3, 2006, when she was 14.
(The Denver Post does not identify alleged sex-assault victims.)
The girl said the assault occurred as Luna was taking her to a nearby Wheat Ridge pub, where she bussed tables.
“He started telling me about him and his wife not having a good relationship and how they were going to break up,” she testified. The girl said she told him to stop.
After being dropped off, the girl called her mother at work,she said. Her mother told her to call 911, which she did.
Luna has denied the sex-assault allegations.
Defense attorneys said the alleged victim had a long-running feud with Luna’s stepdaughter. They said the girls, who are about the same age, had to go through mediation at school.
Defense attorney Gary Lozow asked the teen if her mother said, “Maybe we can get Luna arrested,” when she told her to phone 911 the day of the incident.
“I don’t recall,” the girl responded.
At the time of the alleged offense, Luna was a 13-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department. His employment status was unclear Wednesday.
Two additional sex-assault charges were filed against Luna a year ago after a separate alleged victim came forward, but those charges have since been dropped.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
