Sugar Land man charged for sexual abuse against 3 girls
HOUSTON - On Dec. 18, 51-year-old Jose Florentino Ortiz from Sugar Land was sentenced to prison for sexual abuse against children.
According to the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, Ortiz will serve a total of 57 years after a jury found him guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a young child and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Court records say he was served 25 years and two 16-year sentences, respectively, for his crimes.
Ortiz will be eligible for parole after he serves 49 years.
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Fort Bend County child abuse prosecutors Alycia Curtis and Craig Priesmeyer revealed evidence showing Ortiz began sexually abusing a 5-year-old child in the mid-1990s. The abuse continued for more than a decade and Ortiz also began abusing the victim's younger sister and another female family member.
Jose Florentino Ortiz
In the summer of 2020, Ortiz confessed during a sheriff's office investigation to molesting two of the three victims and described himself as having a "pedophile mind."
"The scope of sexual abuse in this case, against three separate victims, was horrific. But the girls showed incredible bravery coming forward and facing their abuser in court," said lead prosecutor Alycia Curtis.
During his trial, Ortiz attempted to take back his confession and accused the victim of making up or exaggerating the abuse, but the jury returned a guilty verdict.
District Attorney Brian Middleton emphasized the collective effort in delivering justice, stating, "This is what you get when we catch you abusing children in this county. I am proud of my prosecutors, the judge, and the jury for working hard to ensure that this man can never harm another child in his lifetime. I am especially proud of the young survivors who held the defendant accountable. We should all be so brave."