Man charged in 2019 rape accused of raping 16-year-old girl
On a fall afternoon last year, 35-year-old Dennis Bergeron dropped his then-girlfriend off at work. Hours later, he returned, accused her of sleeping with another man, pulled her into the car and forced her to perform oral sex on him, according to an arrest affidavit filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court in November 2019.
Bergeron is now accused of raping a 16-year-old girl he worked with at a local fast food restaurant, according to a separate arrest affidavit filed in Magistrate Court Oct. 8.
The rape happened outside the restaurant in July, according to court records. The girl told police Bergeron pinned her against a wall near a dumpster and pulled her pants down as she repeatedly told him to stop. He then sexually penetrated her, according to the affidavit.
The girl said Bergeron stopped when she screamed for help, and she then ran inside the restaurant’s kitchen. She said she reported the rape to the restaurant’s manager, but said his response was that it happened because of the way she was dressed, according to the affidavit. He also told her not to tell anyone else about it because he would “take care of it.” The manager has not been charged in connection to the rape.
Following the November 2019 rape, an arrest warrant was issued for Bergeron, and he was charged with first-degree felony criminal sexual penetration causing great bodily harm or great mental anguish, first-degree kidnapping with intent to commit sexual offense and battery on a household member. However, Bergeron was not arrested until Jan. 10 when he was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center.
During a Jan. 10 hearing, Judge Melanie Rivera set bond for Bergeron at $500,000, and on Jan. 31, the case was transferred to District Court for trial. At a March 4 hearing in District Court, Judge Gerald Baca lowered Bergeron’s bond to $5,000 and ordered that Bergeron have no contact with the woman he’s accused of raping in 2019. He was released from SMCDC April 14 with a GPS ankle monitor.
Prosecutors filed a motion Aug. 13 to revoke Bergeron’s conditions of release, alleging that in the six-day span between July 29 and Aug. 4 — days after the alleged rape of the 16-year-old girl — Bergeron sent 180 text messages to the woman he’s accused of raping in 2019.
On Aug. 5, Bergeron was charged with violating the order prohibiting contact with her and he was arrested Aug. 6, then released Aug. 7 on an unsecured $5,000 bond issued by Judge Rivera.
Based on the information in the motion, a warrant for Bergeron’s arrest was issued Aug. 14, and Bergeron was again arrested Aug. 20. The court increased his bond to a secured $10,000, and he was released Sept. 3 after posting bond.
On Sept. 15, prosecutors again filed a motion to revoke his conditions of release, alleging that on Sept. 9, Bergeron called the woman via Facebook Messenger. An arrest warrant was issued, and Bergeron was arrested Sept. 25.
Though the rape of the 16-year-old girl happened in July, charges were not filed against Bergeron until Oct. 8. He is charged with second-degree felony criminal sexual penetration of a child, and was already in custody at SMCDC when the new charges were filed.
At an Oct. 9 hearing, Judge Christian Montaño set bond for Bergeron at $20,000 cash only, and he remained in custody at SMCDC as of this writing.
Bergeron has a lengthy criminal history in Louisiana, including charges for burglary, theft, battery, assault and aggravated assault. He also previously fled to Louisiana and was extradited to New Mexico, according to an order setting conditions of release filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court on Oct. 9.
Bergeron is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing in the recent rape case. A trial date has not yet been set for the November 2019 case.
