Suspect Indicted for Lewd Assault of a Minor

SAN ANGELO— A San Angelo man has been indicted for sexually assaulting a child under the age of 14.

Carlos Rangel, 21, was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury in February on three counts of Sexual Assault of a Child.

According to court documents, a Texas Highway Patrol Trooper was dispatched to an incident on July 2, 2023, on Terry Trail. This trooper was called to a crash involving a Ford Mustang and a GMC pickup that happened on private property.

The defendant, identified as Rangel, was on the property without the owner’s consent. The owner confronted Rangel as he was on the property to meet the owner’s granddaughter, who was a minor.

Rangel was under investigation for downloading suspected child pornography and possessing child pornography. This was prompted by a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The owner of the private property was contacted and confirmed the details of the incident that occurred on his land and also confirmed that Rangel was the other man involved.

The next day on July 6, 2023, the mother of the child victim, provided electronic communication between the victim and the account that allegedly belonged to Rangel. Provided were photographs of a silver in color Ford Mustang that was driven by Rangel. This vehicle was the same one associated with Rangel during the child pornography investigation.

On July 7, 2023, a non-custodial interview of the child victim was performed where she identified Rangel by name and said that she met him on Instagram. She had no previous contact with Rangel at the time and also informed him that she was 13 years old. The child victim said that Rangel had sexually assaulted her. All the assaults took place inside Rangel’s silver Mustang and occurred between June 23, 2023, and June 30, 2023.

Rangel was arrested on July 11, 2023, and was released the next day on July 12, 2023, on $125,000 bond. He is next due in court on April 2, 2024, for an initial pre-trial hearing.