HOUSTON – A Houston man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, without parole, for repeatedly molesting a 12-year-old girl, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday.
Aaron Philip Fernandez, 32, was found guilty by a jury for continuous sexual abuse of a child from July 2017 to October 2017, according to the release. He was sentenced Tuesday.
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“Texas law mandates that when a predator is convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, they are never allowed to be released on parole,” Ogg said. “This man will spend 50 years in prison, day-for-day, for repeatedly assaulting a 12-year-old.”
Prosecutors said Fernandez began molesting the girl when she was 12 and continued for a year and a half, including sexual acts that happened in front of younger children who witnessed the acts. Prosecutors said Fernandez terrorized several children. According to court records, he repeatedly beat children with a belt and an extension cord, and he slashed a male child with a knife and held a gun to the child’s head.
The victim eventually cried out for help to a school counselor who alerted authorities.
“She was molested multiple times; it started as physical abuse and then turned sexual,” said Assistant District Attorney Edward Appelbaum of the Crimes Against Children Division who prosecuted the case. “The jury in this case made the right decision to protect this girl and the community from a dangerous and violent sexual predator.”
The case was investigated by the Houston Police Department.