FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – A Fort Bend County jury has sentenced a Sugar Land man to 57 years in prison for the sexual assault of three girls.
Jose Florentino Ortiz, 51, was convicted by a jury on Dec. 18 on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child and two charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The jury assessed his punishment at 25 years, 16 years, and 16 years, respectively. Judge Steve Rogers ordered the sentences to run consecutively, requiring Ortiz to serve 57 years in prison. Ortiz will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least 49 years.
Recommended Videos
Evidence presented by Fort Bend County child abuse prosecutors Alycia Curtis and Craig Priesmeyer revealed that Ortiz began sexually abusing a girl in the mid-1990′s when she was approximately five years old. He continued his abuse against her for over a decade before moving on to another family member and then a third family member several years later.
The jury heard testimony that during the sheriff’s office investigation in the summer of 2020, Ortiz confessed to molesting two of the three victims and described himself as having a “pedophile mind.”
“The scope of sexual abuse in this case, against three separate victims, was horrific. But the girls showed incredible bravery coming forward and facing their abuser in court,” said lead prosecutor Alycia Curtis.
Ortiz testified at trial, attempting to walk back his confession and accusing the victims of making up and exaggerating the sexual abuse, but the jury saw through his lies.
“This is what you get when we catch you abusing children in this county,” said District Attorney Brian Middleton. “I am proud of my prosecutors, the judge, and the jury for working hard to ensure that this man can never harm another child in his lifetime. I am especially proud of the young survivors who held the defendant accountable. We should all be so brave.”