GREELEY — The 18-year-old former boyfriend of Kayleah Wilson faces charges of sexual assault on a child related to his relationship with the murdered girl.
Robert Laurencio Montoya is also considered, among others, a “person of interest” in the 12-year-old’s death. However, he is not a suspect, said Greeley police spokesman Joe Tymkowych.
“This arrest is separate and distinct” from the murder investigation, Tymkowych said.
Montoya faces a charge of sexual assault on a child, a Class 4 felony, and sexual assault on a child as a pattern of abuse, a Class 3 felony.
Montoya was arrested Wednesday night “from information that probable cause existed to believe the suspect was involved in a sexual relationship with Kayleah Wilson,” Tymkowych said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kayleah’s body was found in a irrigation ditch in southeast Greeley after a two-month search for her. The Weld County coroner determined she was a victim of a homicide, but officials have not disclosed the cause of death or how long she was in the ditch.
Tymkowych refused to release any more details on what prompted the charges. The arrest affidavits are currently sealed, said Jennifer Finch, spokeswoman for the Weld County district attorney . Montoya is in the Weld County Jail on $100,000 bail.
A spokeswoman for Kayleah’s family said she wasn’t sure how long Montoya and Kayleah had been dating. But when Kayleah’s mother — April Wilson — found out about the relationship in February, she forced the two to break up, said spokeswoman Michelle Thompson.
“It was a secret relationship until the mother found out,” Thompson said.
According to electronic copies of court records, investigators think Montoya started having sex with Kayleah in October of last year. The court records alleged the sexual assaults involved in these charges occurred between Jan. 18 — Montoya’s 18th birthday, when he became an adult — and March 28, the day Kayleah disappeared.
Montoya attended Greeley West High School, but Thompson wasn’t sure whether he graduated. Montoya’s Facebook page said he was a member of the high school’s Class of 2010.
Montoya joined one of the door-to-door searches for Kayleah launched after she disappeared March 28.
At the search, Montoya appeared “very sad. He was so determined he was going to help her,” Thompson said.
Police have declined to comment on whether Kayleah was pregnant at the time of her death.
Kayleah’s body was discovered in a ditch about 6 a.m. Wednesday. The area had been searched extensively at least twice by people looking for the 12-year-old.
Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner said heavy rains both Tuesday night and several days ago may have “moved the body from a culvert or hiding place” to a position in the ditch where it could be seen.
About 10 a.m. Wednesday, the body was removed from the ditch and taken to McKee Medical Center for identification.
On Thursday, Garner announced that the body was that of Kayleah.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do now,” said Garner at that time. “We’ll be talking to lots of people.”
The ditch is half a mile from Kayleah’s home but not on the route to her friend’s house, where she was going to attend a birthday party when she disappeared.
Kayleah was last seen shortly after leaving her family’s apartment in the 2800 block of 28th Street. There were reports she was seen in the parking lot of the Greeley Mall just prior to her disappearance.
Ron Walker, a former FBI profiler, said the Greeley police will likely begin concentrating on Kayleah’s circle of friends as possible suspects or for information on suspects.
“Police always look to the close associates of the victim and move outward in concentric circles,” Walker said. “I wouldn’t be surprised they are already talking to kids at the mall as well as her boyfriend.”
