Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Aguirre (Collin County District Attorney’s Office)
A 28-year-old man in Texas will spend more than six decades behind bars for repeatedly raping and eventually impregnating an 11-year-old girl.
State District Court Judge Carmen Rivera-Worley on Wednesday ordered Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Aguirre to serve a sentence of 65 years in prison without the possibility for parole after a jury found him guilty on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Collin County District Attorney’s Office, Rodriguez-Aguirre knew and had ongoing access to the victim, whose name was not released due to her age and the nature of the offense. Prosecutors said he sexually abused the victim for approximately a year, beginning when she was only 11 years old.
The sexual abuse came to light when the victim went to the doctor for her annual physical and it was discovered that she was pregnant. The victim then told a family member about the abuse, which was then relayed to Child Protective Services as well as the Wylie Police Department.
The case was taken over by WPD detectives and the victim subsequently underwent a forensic interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County. During the interview, police said that she disclosed numerous details about the sexual abuse.
A DNA paternity test was conducted by the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth, which indicated that there was a “strong likelihood that Rodriguez-Aguirre was the father of the victim’s child,” prosecutors said.
During the trial, the victim took the stand and testified against Rodriguez-Aguirre. The jury not only convicted him on the continuous sexual abuse of a child charge, but also assessed that Rodriguez-Aguirre should be punished with a sentence of 65 years in prison.
Under Texas state law, any sentence for continuous sexual abuse of a child must be served without eligibility for parole.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis applauded the prison sentence on Wednesday.
“I’m amazed at the courage of this child, who mustered the strength to testify against her abuser,” DA Willis said in a statement following the hearing.
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