Houston 7-year-old victim speaks out; convicted predator previously on ICE hold now on the run

HOUSTON - The Houston Police Department have identified the man suspected of groping a young girl who was walking home from school on Jan. 27.

Carlos Jose Ayala Morales has been charged with felony attempted indecency with a child, according to a Houston police post. Harris County records do not yet reflect this at the time this article was written. 

Brave 7-year-old shares her terrifying experience 

What we know:

The 43-year-old is accused of inappropriately grabbing and touching a 7-year-old girl in the 800 block of Omar Street after 3 p.m. while the child was walking home from Travis Elementary school.

Carlos Jose Ayala Morales (Courtesy of Houston Police Department/Facebook)

Surveillance video from a neighbor's doorbell camera shows the 7-year-old walking behind the other two girls and a man following them.

The girl and her mom say she was walking behind her older sister and a friend. They say the man ran up, groped her and ran away. The girl didn't scream due to being in shock and told her older sister when they got home. 

"A man came behind me, and he touched my private parts," said the girl in an exclusive interview. 

"I hope he's caught and put away much longer, so he can't hurt other children," said her mom. 

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A convicted predator with the same M.O.

The backstory:

Harris County court records show Morales was charged in 2017 with four counts of indecency with a child (Two indecency child-TG and 2 indecency child exposure) and evading arrest. 

A Houston police press release from that time says Houston police believed Morales, who they called Ayala, to be linked to "at least 10 sexual assault incidents in the northeast Houston and Harris County areas." 

It says police were investigating a string of, "sexual assaults of school-aged juvenile females, seven to 15 years of age, as they traveled to and from school." And that, "Ayala would come up behind the victims and inappropriately touch them through their clothing." Almost exactly what happened to the 7-year-old in this latest case. 

The release says, "In one incident, Ayala attempted to abduct one of the victims, a 7 year-old female, as she walked home from school with her 9-year-old brother."

"Reading that made me so scared, because that could have been [my child]," said the victim's mom. 

In 2018, he pleaded guilty to four counts, was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to seven years' confinement. His sentence was seven years for each count, to run concurrently, according to records. This is essentially the same as seven years total. 

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice tells FOX 26, TDCJ received Carlos Ayala on October 30, 2018, to serve concurrent seven-year sentences for indecency with a child by exposure, three counts of indecency with a child - TG, evading arrest, and detention with a vehicle, and burglary of a building.

He was released to ICE on February 22, 2024, around five years and three months later. 

Harris County records show that when Morales was arrested in 2017, an immigration detainer was lodged on him. The detainer was lifted when he was convicted. Records show he is a Honduran national. 

ICE sources are currently gathering more information on his current immigration status.

Morales wasn't located during an initial search of the Texas sex offenders registry. According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, anyone convicted of indecency with a child should be on that list. 

What you can do:

You can call Crime Stoppers Houston at 713-222-TIPS for a possible reward of up to $5,000 if you have tips about his whereabouts.