GRANTS, N.M. – A former Grants resident has pleaded guilty in an Albuquerque case involving sexual crimes against a minor, according to the Office of the Second Judicial District Attorney.
The district attorney’s office announced Dec. 29 that Jonathan Paul Giaquinto pleaded guilty to four counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, two counts of child solicitation by an electronic communication device, and sexual exploitation of children. The district attorney’s office said the victim was 14 years old.
Prosecutors said Giaquinto is accused of meeting the victim through social media in January and February 2025 and traveling from Grants to Albuquerque in connection with the case. The district attorney’s office said he faces up to 17 years in the New Mexico Corrections Department and will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Earlier case information reviewed for this report states that U.S. Marshals arrested Giaquinto in Grants and transported him back to Albuquerque.
The case has also prompted renewed public attention on how sex-offender registration information is displayed. Materials reviewed for this report state Giaquinto previously had a military court conviction in 2023 that required sex-offender registration, and that some registrable offenses in New Mexico fall into categories that are not publicly searchable even though the individual is required to register.
Editor’s Note: An indictment or criminal complaint is merely an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Giaquinto has now entered guilty pleas, according to the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office.