| Inmate name: | Humberto Lopez-Martinez |
| Charge description: | A jury sentenced Humberto Lopez-Martinez to 38 years in prison on October 22, 2013 after convicting him of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child. The 41-year-old Richmond man was charged for sexually abusing a young girl over a period of two years. Evidence presented by prosecutors Jill Stotts and Lisa P. Gregg revealed that the defendant Lopez-Martinez began to touch his victim inappropriately in early 2010 and the abuse progressed until 2011 2012, when the defendant began having sex with the victim. She was only 11 to 12 years old. The sexual abuse would happen often, every chance the defendant could get her alone, and have the opportunity to do so. Lopez-Martinez threatened the child, telling her he would hurt her or other members of her family if she told. On two separate occasions, the defendant carried out those threats when he struck the child in the mouth because she was crying and threatening to tell someone what he was doing to her. The Defendant quit having access to the child in June of 2012 and approximately three weeks later, she revealed the abuse to her aunt. The victim underwent an exam by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner which provided medical evidence consistent with her history of sexual abuse. At trial, she testified before a jury and her abuser about the many years of sexual abuse she endured at the hands of the defendant. That little girl was so brave and so strong to endure the abuse in order to, in her mind, keep her family safe, said Assistant District Attorney Jill Stotts, and then again to tell her story to keep other children safe from the same sexual abuse that she had suffered. She is a hero. Lopez-Martinez was tried in the 434th District Court before Presiding Judge James H. Shoemake. Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child is a first-degree felony punishable by 25 to 99 years or life in prison. The jury deliberated less than two hours before sentencing the defendant to 38 years in prison without the possibility for parole. The jurors of Fort Bend County did a great job and have told other sex offenders by their verdict that if you commit these crimes, they will make sure you are stopped from ever doing it again, added Stotts. Assistant District Attorneys Jill Stotts and Lisa P. Gregg prosecuted the case. Attorney Sid Crowley represented the defendant. |
| Booking location: | Fort Bend County, TX |
