San Angelo Man Jailed and Charged with 4.5 Years Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child

A 34-year-old San Angelo man, accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 was arrested and booked into the county jail by sheriff’s deputies on Monday, following an indictment on the first-degree felony charge.

This isn’t the first time that Manuel Rangel has been charged and indicted with sexually abusing children; on Feb. 4, 2002, a Tom Green County grand jury indicted Rangel for aggravated sexual assault of a child, however that charge was later dismissed in a plea bargain that ultimately landed the accused behind bars for 365 days.

The alleged aggravated sexual assault took place on Aug. 15, 1999, court documents indicate, and at the time of the offense Rangel was on probation for an Oct. 12, 1998 drug possession charge. He was 19 years old at the time of the offense.

Rangel had been sentenced to one year probation on July 13, 1999 for the possession charge, a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years confinement. He had less than a gram of a controlled substance when busted in ’98.

Within two months of being placed on probation, the District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to revoke (MTR) probation for violations to the terms and conditions. It took several months before Rangel had a hearing, but his probation ultimately continued.

Two more MTRs were filed on March 21, 2001 and Aug. 10, 2001, for various violations including positive tests for cocaine use, failure to report and failure to make payments, among other things.

On Aug. 14, 2002, Rangel struck a deal with the DA and pled true to violating his probation. In exchange, the aggravated sexual assault of a child charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to one year in a state jail.

A free man, Rangel kept busy accruing various traffic and assault charges and going in and out of the jail. In July 2014, he was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury once again, this time for sexual abuse of a child continuous, victim under 14.

According to the indictment, the abuse occurred from Sept. 1, 2007 and continued through Feb. 3, 2012. During that time, Rangel is accused of making sexual contact with a juvenile on two or more occasions.

Sexual abuse of a child continuous victim under 14 is a first-degree felony punishable by 5-99 years imprisonment and an optional $10k fine. Rangel is currently being held at the Tom Green County jail in lieu of a $100k surety bond.