Man Married to Victim: Extended Probation for Sexual Assault of Child

SAN ANGELO, TX- Javier Torres, 25, who was found guilty for Sexual Assault of a Child in 2012, appeared in the 340th District Court Wednesday afternoon for a sentencing hearing regarding violations of his parole.

According to court records, the victim, age 15 at the time of the offense and homeless, disclosed to San Angelo Police Detective Eduardo Chavarria that she and the defendant were in a consensual dating relationship and had engaged in sexual intercourse on at least two separate occasions. These instances occurred on July 30 and Sep. 7 in 2011.

Leading up to the interview with the victim, Detective Chriselva Soto, with the San Angelo Police Department, learned the victim had spent a night at the defendant’s apartment. With this information, the victim was located at the property.

On Oct. 13, 2011, Torres voluntarily met with Det. Chavarria at the San Angelo Police Department. After being read his statutory rights, Torres provided a statement acknowledging his dating relationship with the victim. He also indicated that he understood the age difference.  

Torres pleaded guilty to the second degree felony on Aug. 27, 2012. He bonded out on a $5,000 surety bound. Additionally, Judge Jay Weatherby issued Deferred Adjudication on the charge and Torres was sentenced to six years of adult probation.

However, Torres continued his communication with the victim. Among the violations of his parole, Torres communicated with the victim via text messaging twice in May of 2013. He also had violations for being on a computer with internet access, and being within a 1,000 foot radius where children reside. 

In 2014 there was a motion to revoke parole, which Judge Weatherby denied, and the court ordered for continued supervision of Torres.

There was another motion to revoke parole in October of 2015, which led to the defendant requesting to plea out of the parole violations. The plea hearing was held in Jan. 2016; however, Torres did not want to accept the plea deal. In response, the State requested the court to set for a plea of Not True.

The Not True hearing was held on June 14, 2016. After evidence was presented, it was decided that the court would “reset for a verdict to be rendered,” according to court documents.

From this point forward, a total of four motions of continuance were filed to the court by the defense council.  

Wednesday’s Trial

Wednesday afternoon, Torres stood before the 340th Judicial Court with the Honorable Judge Weatherby presiding once more. Judge Weatherby started by referencing the previous motion to revoke parole from October of 2015.

“It’s been too long,” Judge Weatherby noted, while also accepting this was partially his responsibility.

After taking a short pause, he mentioned the parole councilor's comments, leading him to believe that Torres has been staying true to his parole; however, he did note it shouldn’t become any more important to follow the rules because a judge's verdict was being considered on the case.

This is a more difficult case though because the Defendant is now married to the victim, which the Defense council emphasized in the hearing. Because of the nature of this case, the court ruled that Torres' probation be extended for two years in addition to the previous six year issued by the court in 2012.

“I’m going to extend the probation for two years,” Judge Weatherby told Torres. “I expect you to follow every rule.”  

Torres nodded in acceptance of this ruling, and his family members, including the victim, showed signs of relief from the back of the courtroom.