Grand jury indicts Marine accused of sexually abusing 1-year-old

A Marine accused of sexually abusing his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter and physically abusing her 4-year-old son at the Linq hotel has been indicted, prosecutors said Thursday.

Alex Plunket, 22, faces one count of sexual assault with a minor under 14 and two counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment for which he could be sentenced to 35 years to life in prison if convicted.

He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $700,000 bail. Should he make bail, prosecutors asked that he have no contact with minors and that he surrender his passport and military identification. They also asked that he be required to report to the Camp Pendleton Marine base in San Diego County, California, with GPS monitoring.

Plunket was visiting his girlfriend of four months in Las Vegas from March 3 through March 6. He was watching the children when his girlfriend went to work on March 4, and while under his supervision, both children received cuts and bruises on their faces, according to a police report.

A day after Plunket watched the children, the biological father of the children noticed injuries that were not present when he left them with their mother, according to the report.

The father and grandmother then called the police.

Police sent the children to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center for evaluation. The 4-year-old told a paramedic that “Alex” hurt him, police said.

A medical examination showed that the younger child had been sexually assaulted and that both children had been physically abused.

The examiner explained that “this is not something that could accidentally happen to a 1-year-old” and that the injuries indicated “definitive sexual abuse,” according to the report.

Plunket told their mother that he left the girl on the bed unattended while he was using the bathroom. When he came back, he said, she had fallen off the bed, causing bruising and cuts on her face and mouth, according to the report.

He also said the 4-year-old threw a toy that bounced back and hit the boy in the face.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find @randompoker on Twitter.