SAN ANTONIO – A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a child sexual assault case involving indecency with a child, according to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.
Manuel Rodriguez was convicted on August 25 in the 187th District Court of two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by contact.
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Rodriguez must serve 10 years of his 20-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
Officials say Rodriguez began abusing the victim, a young family member, when the child was in middle school and continued until the 9th grade.
The victim’s mother reported Rodriguez after discovering a picture of her child on his phone.
The mother asked her child about the photos, and they made an outcry.
Rodriguez then asked the complaining witness to deny the sexual abuse.
Investigators gathered evidence, including months of text messages documenting an inappropriate and sexually suggestive relationship that Rodriguez crafted with the child, according to the DA’s office.
“It is unconscionable that someone would sexually abuse a young child, violating the trust they have for their family,” said Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe Gonzales, “We will vigorously prosecute each case.”