30-Year Sentence Given To Austin Man For Child Sexual Abuse

AUSTIN, TX — A man was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment this week after being convicted of sexually abusing a child, county prosecutors said.

A Travis County jury on Friday handed down the lengthy sentence for Jose Rodriguez-Navarette, 40, following his conviction on charges of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child and Indecency With a Child by Contact.

Rodriguez-Navarette was arrested in May 2018 after having been accused of abusing an 11 year old girl numerous times at a motel in Central Austin in the early months of 2018. The victim, who is now 13, testified and had given a detailed account of the crimes in an interview with the Center for Child Protection, according to the Travis County District Attorney's office.

“In the face of abuse and trauma, children can show how truly resilient they are," Travis County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Wolfe said in a prepared statement. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, this child had to testify on multiple occasions and she never wavered in telling her story and remained brave enough to face her abusers. That is a difficult thing to ask of adults, much less a 13 year old child. I’m thankful that the jury took the time to listen to the evidence and render a just verdict."

After testifying, prosecutors visited with the girl and asked her what advice she had for other children who might have to testify. The girl responded: "Tell them they can do it, and they need to hold their heads up high."

Rodriguez-Navarette was sentenced by Judge David Wahlberg in 167th District Court. The case was tried by Travis County Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Wolfe and Coulter Goodman.

Last May, a co-defendant in the case, Marian Miranda-Aguirre was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for trafficking a person and indecency with a child by contact, prosecutors said. Miranda-Aguirre was a trusted family friend who picked up the girl from school without her parent's knowledge and took her to the motel where the child was abused, officials added.