Two New Mexico Men Sentenced in Child Sex Cases

Joseph Gunter, a 41-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison and lifetime supervised release after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation and abduction of a 12-year-old girl from Ashtabula County, Ohio. Gunter manipulated the victim online for months before kidnapping her at gunpoint and sexually assaulting her during a journey back to New Mexico. Law enforcement used license plate readers and coordinated among multiple agencies to locate and rescue the girl in Texas, where Gunter was arrested. He was also ordered to pay restitution under federal child pornography and trafficking victim statutes. Separately, Kenneth Ray Mayfield, another New Mexico man, was arrested in Logan, Utah, for allegedly molesting a young girl several years ago. Mayfield faces first-degree felony charges and could receive a life sentence if convicted.