Alleged to have molested an 8-year-old girl after drugging her father, a convicted sex offender is set to face a jury of his peers starting next week.

About 400 Montezuma County residents are expected to be summoned for jury duty on Monday, Jan. 5. The process of selecting a final panel of 12 jurors plus two alternates is expected to take several days.

On trial, the defendant, Andrew Allmon, 55, of North State Street, faces life behind bars if convicted.

A Montezuma County grand jury indicted Allmon on nine counts of child sexual assault and four drug charges. Under a $30,000 bond, reduced from an original $75,000 amount, the defendant has remained in custody at the Montezuma County jail since his arrest.

Court records reveal the defendant allegedly committed the sexual assault offenses within six weeks of inviting a homeless family to move into his Cortez home. A convicted sex offender, Allmon allegedly abused the youngest of three daughters, an 8-year-old. Records show the defendant also allegedly drugged the father of the minor child with Oxycontin.

The alleged victim reportedly told authorities during a forensics interview that Allmon not only touched her, but he also forced her to touch him. The mother testified at a grand jury hearing that Allmon was like a grandfather to the children.

Allmon was previously convicted in 2008 on charges of false imprisonment and sexual assault of a minor in San Juan County N.M.

tbaker@cortezjournal.com