Clovis man gets prison for 2011 sexual assault

CLOVIS — A Clovis man has been convicted in a sexual assault case and sentenced to five years in prison.

A Curry County jury Friday found 27-year-old Mario Alberto Pinela-Marquez guilty of second-degree criminal sexual penetration and concealing identity.

Pinela-Marquez was accused of entering a room where a 19-year-old female was sleeping and sexually assaulted her while holding her down by her throat on May 4, 2011.

The victim reported the assault to her sister and Clovis police were notified. Pinela-Marquez was arrested the next day and has been in custody ever since.

Authorities say Pinela-Marquez was convicted in 2004 for a sexual assault in Colorado.

After serving his New Mexico sentence, Pinela-Marquez will be taken back to Colorado where he faces up to a lifetime prison term for violating his original probation.