A 49-year-old Mission man was found guilty for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old child who he had been abusing for five years, the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
Jorge Enrique Sanchez was found guilty of one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of sexual assault of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Sanchez has been sentenced to 60 years in prison.
On February 22, 2017, Edinburg police received a report of a 14-year-old child who had been sexually assaulted, according to the release.
“The child was interviewed by a forensic interviewer and underwent a sexual assault examination,” the release said.
It was during these examinations that the child stated she had been sexually assaulted by Sanchez for five years.
On Sept. 13, a Hidalgo County jury found Sanchez guilty on all counts and was sentenced to 40 years for the continuous sexual abuse of a child charge and 20 years for the sexual assault on a child charge.
“The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively for a total prison sentence of 60 years.” the release said. “There is no parole eligibility for continuous sexual abuse of a child.”
According to the release, the charges are a result of an investigation conducted by the Edinburg Police Department, the Hidalgo and Starr County Children’s Advocacy Center, and Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance Safe Haven.
When handing down the sentence, Judge Ysmael Fonseca told the defendant, “Mr. Sanchez, our children are off limits.”
