A Texas man will spend the next 40 years behind bars, after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting four young girls.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office said in a press release that 32-year-old Alvaro Jeronimo Juarez, of Houston, was sentenced by a judge to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child after raping a 5-year-old numerous times starting in 2009.
Assistant District Attorney Dana Nazarova, one of the chief prosecutors on the case, said after the first victim came forward in 2018, the other three spoke out about what was happening to them, testifying in court that Juarez raped them, too.
The rapes typically started when the girls were 5 years old and continued until they were about 10, the DA’s office said.
Juarez was a friend of the family’s – sometimes living in the house.
While in and out of the house and taking advantage of the trust adults placed in him, the DA’s office said Juarez groomed, assaulted and intimidated the children.
“He had special ways to groom the children, like doling out their favorite snacks,” Nazarova said. “And then he had ways to scare them, like using a phony badge.”
Nazarova added that the family and children will be affected by Juarez’s actions for the rest of their lives, and she thanked the jury for convicting him of his crimes.
“Every adult in a child’s life has to stay vigilant because predators like this man lie, mislead and trick whomever they can in order to get close to children,” Ogg said. “This man stole the childhood from these girls, and the law rightfully puts him in prison without the chance of parole to serve every day of a 40-year sentence.”
The Houston Police Department conducted the investigation into Juarez.
