Man charged with sex crimes released on bond

CLOVIS — A man charged with over two dozen counts of sex crimes against children was released from jail Tuesday afternoon on a $20,000 cash surety bond pending further court appearances.

Oscar Villanes, 36, of Clovis, was charged with 25 counts of criminal sexual penetration in the 1st degree (child under 13) and one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor in the 2nd degree, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant filed Feb. 5 in magistrate court.

An investigation began last month after a 13-year old girl reported being sexually abused by Villanes years earlier.

“She stated this all started in 1st or 2nd grade when he would play a game (with the girl and another child),” a Clovis police officer wrote in the complaint. The alleged abuse happened largely over a two year period, records show.

Villanes was arrested early Tuesday and released on bond that afternoon, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover confirmed. In addition to noting Villanes was employed locally and has no other criminal history, the state agreed to the bond “in exchange for a waiver of (a preliminary hearing) so that the children would not have to go through that.”

Villanes’ next appearance, an arraignment in district court, is yet to be set.

“These are allegations from 6 or 7 years ago,” his attorney Dan Lindsey wrote in a message to The News. “He is innocent and we will show that the allegations are not true.”