A cross-country truck driver who reportedly admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with a young girl in Benson will remain in the Cochise County jail pending trial unless he can post a $100,000 cash only bond, a judge confirmed Monday.
Rene Teren Rascon was indicted by a county grand jury in January on nine felonies involving sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation, public sexual indecency, and furnishing harmful items to a minor. The offenses allegedly occurred between May 2018 and March 2020, starting when the girl was six years old.
Court records show Rascon, 35, was taken into custody in Baxter County, Arkansas on Feb. 18 based on a nationwide arrest warrant issued by the Benson Justice Court. A justice of the peace set bail at $100,000 with a cash-only provision based on Rascon’s danger “to victim and community.”
After his arrest, Rascon was extradited to Arizona and arrived at the county jail on March 4. He was arraigned in Cochise County Superior Court on Monday via a video feed from the jail at which time his conditions of release were affirmed.
Several of the nine counts against Rascon are designated under Arizona law as dangerous crimes against children (DACA). Some DACA charges can carry mandatory life sentences.
The Benson Police Department conducted the investigation, although the court file does not address when or how Rascon came to be a suspect.
Rachel Raynes of the Cochise County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Rascon’s case while a defense attorney will be appointed for Rascon in the coming days.
