FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• CONTACT: Brook Arbeitman

March 15, 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY – This week, an Oklahoma County jury found Juan Antonio Melgar guilty of five charges related to the sexual assault of his daughter. Melgar was charged with the counts below related to an incident reported to the police on September 19, 2022:

• Ct. #1: Attempted Indecent or Lewd Acts with a Child Under 16
• Ct. #2: Child Abuse by Injury
• Ct. #3: Child Abuse by Injury
• Ct. #4: Indecent or Lewd Acts with a Child Under 16
• Ct. #5: Indecent or Lewd Acts with a Child Under 16

The jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts yesterday and recommended a sentence of 10 years for Count #1, 30 years for Count #2, 5 years for Count #3, life for Count #4 and another life sentence for County #5. Formal sentencing by the Court will take place on May 13, 2024.

“This little girl is so brave for reporting repeated abuse at the hands of her father,” said Vicki Zemp Behenna, Oklahoma County District Attorney. “Her courage in reporting these acts perpetrated against her by someone who is supposed to care for her and who she should be able to trust is remarkable. Not only that, but she doesn’t speak English, so she then had to put her faith in the hands of strangers who don’t speak her language.”

On September 19, 2022, Oklahoma City Police responded to the 600 block of SW 48th Street where officers made contact with a woman who reported a 12-year-old neighbor told her the girl’s father was sexually abusing her. The child reported to authorities that her father ripped her shirt off when she wouldn’t disrobe at his request. During a forensic interview of the girl, she reported that her father had inappropriately touched her over her clothing, routinely asks her to sleep in the same bed as him in only their underwear and is physically abusive toward her by biting her and hitting her with a belt. Oklahoma City police arrested Melgar on September 19, 2022.

District Attorney Behenna would like to thank the jurors for their service, as well as the witnesses who testified, the police who diligently investigated this crime and the prosecutors who prepared this case for court.

Criminal charges are based on probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime. All defendants

are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

###