ROCKWALL, TX (Jan. 30, 2023) On January 25, 2023, a Rockwall County jury returned a verdict of guilty against former Rockwall resident Martin Alfredo Escobar-Rivera, 31, on charges of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and Indecency with a Child – Sexual Contact. The same jury assessed Escobar-Rivera’s punishment at 60 years and 10 years confinement, respectively, in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The sentences will run concurrently.
Judge David Rakow presided over the three-day jury trial in the 439TH District Court in which jurors heard testimony that Escobar-Rivera sexually abused his girlfriend’s daughter multiple times when she was eleven to twelve years old. The abuse came to light in April 2022 when the child outcried to a school counselor whom she trusted. Rockwall Police Department Detective Michael Manuel investigated, and the child was forensically interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center for Rockwall County (CACRC).
Jurors heard testimony from the child victim, now fourteen years of age. The child told jurors of multiple acts of child molestation, including how Escobar-Rivera would touch her sexually in her bedroom, the living room, and in her mom’s bed. Other state witnesses included law enforcement, medical, and CACRC therapist and forensic interviewers. Jurors also heard evidence that the child and her mother feared Escobar-Rivera, and Escobar-Rivera was physically abusive towards the child.
“This child was incredibly courageous in facing her abuser in the courtroom,” said Assistant District Attorney Justin Almand. “I am thankful the jurors carefully considered the facts and recognized that Escobar-Rivera is dangerous.”
“We appreciate the collaboration between law enforcement, medical providers, the school district, and the Children’s Advocacy Center,” said Rockwall County District Attorney Kenda Culpepper. “We all have a job to do when it comes to the protection of children.”
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