Man Accused of Sexually Abusing Two Underage Girls Back in Jail

A San Angelo man accused of sexually assaulting two underage girls last year was arrested on Thursday, July 10, after failing to appear at a plea hearing scheduled on the previous day.

Jose Arturo Pena, 23, was indicted in January of this year for sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child for incidents alleged to have occurred on July 29, 2013.

According to the indictment filed with the court, the victim of the sexual assault, which included sexual contact, was under the age of 14 when the assault took place. The victim of the aggravated sexual assault was under 17 years of age, the indictment says.

Following written complaints filed by SAPD Officer Kelly Lajoie two warrants were issued for Pena’s arrest on Aug. 7-8, 2013. Twenty days later, on Aug. 27, 2013, Pena was arrested and booked into the Tom Green County Jail where he remained until March 9, 2014.

While in the county jail, Pena was appointed an attorney by the court, who then in February filed a motion for a psychological evaluation meant to evaluate Pena’s sanity at the time of the alleged offense.

“On the basis of opportunities to observe  and converse with the defendant and on the basis of counsel’s knowledge of defendant’s past history of mental health issues, counsel…has reason to believe that there is a serious question as to whether defendant was insane at the time of the offense alleged in this cause,” the motion reads.

Two forensic psychological evaluations were then conducted to check both Pena’s sanity and whether or not he is competent enough to stand trial. Both evaluations were conducted in March 2013 shortly after he was released from jail.

Initially, a jury trial was set for September 22, 2014, however Pena decided to enter a plea rather than go to trial. When ha failed to show up to his plea hearing on July 9, 2014, he was arrested and taken back to jail, where he is being held for a sum of $200,000 on two surety bonds.

Sexual assault of a child is a second-degree felony punishable by 2-20 years confinement and an optional fine not to exceed $10k. Aggravated sexual assault of a child is a first-degree felony punishable by 5-99 years confinement and an optional fine not to exceed $10k.