A 22-year-old Zia Pueblo man is being accused of contacting a teenage girl through social media.

About 9 a.m. Jan. 11, the Rio Rancho Police Department responded to a call about a missing person from an apartment on the 4500 block of Satellite Boulevard. 

The mother reported that her 14-year-old daughter ran away two days before.  

She checked her daughter’s Instagram account to see if there was information that would aid in her search for the girl’s whereabouts. 

As she scrolled through the “likes” of her daughter’s profile pictures, she encountered one from a man named Quintus “Avery” Abeita who used to live in the apartment above them. 

Abeita liked one of the girl’s pictures from October 2021, according to a criminal complaint.  

As the mom continued to read the Instagram messages, she saw one that read Abeita was going to come down from his apartment to meet her daughter. It also mentioned how the two were talking about having sex. 

The suspect allegedly told the girl he was 22 years old and after he found out she was 14 years old, he reportedly replied, “Yeah you think this would work for both of us,” the complaint states. 

He asked for a picture and she responded by asking him if he had Snapchat, which he did. The two exchanged user names and told each other how happy they were and they loved one another.  

Abeita later asked her if she wanted to have sex. The girl allegedly said yes. The conversation went back and forth about meeting up as well as talking about sex, according to the complaint.  

Then, he asked her, “what if your mom finds out I’m older than you?” 

“We probably should keep it a secret,” she reportedly replied.  

RRPD Lt. Jacquelynn Reedy told the Observer the girl was later found and returned home, but did not say when. 

Abeita is being accused of alleged child solicitation by electronic communication device and meets with child (between 13 and 16), a third-degree felony. 

He had two initial appearances rescheduled. The next one is slated for 1 p.m. May 16. 

A third-degree felony carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.