13 Defendants Indicted by Grand Jury in Tom Green County for Lewd & Deviant Crimes

SAN ANGELO – The June and July indictment reports from the District Courts in Tom Green County were released on Wednesday morning. In it, as per usual in these reports, a number of citizens were accused of sex crimes.

During the past two months the following 13 people were indicted for crimes including sexual assault, sexual assault of children, and online solicitation:

Rafael Alvarado, 25, was indicted for online solicitation of a minor on Jun. 8, 2022. Alvarado is accused of messaging a girl on the internet he believed to be 16. The two planned to meet up on Apr. 21, 2022 for sex at Stadium Lanes in San Angelo but when Alvarado arrived he learned that it was instead an undercover police officer.

Buddy Gray, 36, was indicted for online solicitation of a minor on Jun. 8, 2022. Gray is accused of messaging a boy on the internet he believed to be 16. The two planned to meet up on Apr. 21, 2022 for sex at the Dollar General on Lutheran Way. Once Gray arrived he learned that it was not a 16-year-old but instead an undercover police officer.

Brandon Holt, 19, was indicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 on Jun. 8, 2022. Holt is accused of performing sexual acts on a child for at least two months. Officers learned of the alleged assault on May 3, 2022 after a 10-year-old alerted an officer that another 10-year-old and Holt were in a dating relationship. 

Carlos Morales, 39, was indicted for aggravated sexual assault on Jun. 8, 2022. Morales is accused of picking up a woman from the Econolodge in San Angelo and paying her $300 to pretend to pretend to be his girlfriend on Feb. 25, 2022. While at a residence on Murphy St., Morales began to beat the woman with a bat. He ultimately forced the woman to perform oral sex on him. She was found by police later that night wandering down South Bryant. 

Martin Nieto, 39, was indicted for two counts of sexual assault of a child on Jun. 8, 2022. Neito is accused of having deviant sex with a child under the age of 17 on Feb. 7, 2021. 

Joshua Payne, 25, was indicted for indecency with a child by sexual contact on Jun. 8, 2022. Payne is accused of engaging in sexual contact with a child under the age of 17. He is accused of inappropriately touching a child in Aug. of 2017.

Ethan Pope, 24, was indicted for sexual assault of a child on Jun. 8, 2022. Pope is accused of forcing a child under the age of 17 to perform a sex act on him. The crime allegedly happened on Feb. 15, 2021.

James Baker, 38, was indicted for sexual assault of a child on Jun. 8, 2022. Baker is accused of forcing a child under the age of 17 to perform a sex act on him. The crime allegedly happened on Jun. 20, 2021.

John Custer, 45, was indicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 on Jun. 8, 2022. Custer is accused of molesting a child for years. Accusations say that Custer had been assaulting the child prior to moving to Carlsbad. Custer is accused of not only assaulting the 13-year-old child but also telling her "don't tell anyone what we did."

Nicholas Velasquez, 29, was indicted for two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact on Jun. 8, 2022. Velasquez is accused of sneaking into the room of a young girl and molesting her during the morning of Feb. 7, 2022. 

Francisco Balderas, 77, was indicted for aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and indecency with a child by sexual contact on Jul. 7, 2022. Balderas is accused of molesting two small children for years. The assaults started with the children were toddlers and continued until they were preteens. When Tom Green County Sheriff Deputies asked if he had assaulted the girls he replied with "Just a Little."

Reymundo Luna, 62, was indicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 on Jul. 7, 2022. Luna is accused of molesting a child for nearly an entire year at the Evangel Temple Assembly of God. The victim, at the time of the assault, which was in 2020 was 11 years old.

Timothy Bahl, 20, was indicted for two counts of aggravated sexual assault on. Jul. 7, 2022. Bahl is accused of brutally raping a student in the Centennial Dorm Rooms on the Angelo State University Campus. During the assault he bit, punched, choked, and then ultimately sodomized the woman. The assault occurred on Sep. 6, 2021.

A Tom Green County Grand Jury has handed down indictments for the individuals above.  An indictment means that the members of the Grand Jury believe there is sufficient evidence to take the case to trial.  

All defendants are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.