Bishop man faces aggravated sexual assault of a child charges arrives

arrives A Bishop man already in jail has been served with an

Kingsville arrest warrant in connection with sexual assault of a child.

Hector Cavazos Jr., 34, who is currently being held in the Kleberg County Jail for criminal non support (child support) was also served with an arrest warrant on Tuesday by Bishop Chief of Police, Larry Lawrence and Texas Ranger, Robert Garza for aggravated sexual assault of a child with a bond set at $100,000.

The charge is the result of a crime that occurred approximately six years ago when Cavazos was living with his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time with Cavazos’s child, and her 6-year-old daughter, according to Lawrence.

The juvenile female victim is now 12.

According to affidavits and Child Protective Services reports, when the victim was 6, her mother left her with Cavazos at the apartment they shared while she went to work, the Bishop police chief said.

“When the mother returned home from work, she found her daughter rolled up in a fetal position in her bed with her hair wet and was crying,” he said.

“Her mother asked her why she was crying and the victim stated that, ‘Hector slapped me’,” Lawrence said.

The victims mother saidthe next day, while she was bathing her daughter, she saw signs of what she thought was a rash, but she had no idea that Cavazos had sexually assaulted her daughter, according to police reports.

Shortly after the incident, the victim’s mother gave birth to Cavazos’s child and when the child was approximately seven months old, CPS removed both the victim and her brother from the home and placed them in foster care, and eventually with the paternal grandmother because of allegations of physical abuse, sexual abuse and illegal drug use in the home, the chief said.

“After these allegations, the victim was interviewed by the Nueces County Children’s Advocacy Center and was asked about the sexual abuse allegations where she did not confirm if she was sexually abused and the case was eventually closed due to lack of evidence,” Lawrence said.

“The victim’s mother admits that at the time this occurred, she and Cavazos were using cocaine heavily on a regular basis and had a very rocky and unstable relationship.” he said.

“When her children were removed, she moved away from Bishop and the environment she was in and sought help to get off of cocaine,” Lawrence said.

“She eventually kicked her habit and has since been sober for over five years; she also has since regained custody of both her children who she cares deeply for and continues to live away from Bishop and has only had contact with Cavazos one time since the child was born,” Lawrence noted.

On Nov. 22, the victim revealed to her mother that she had been sexually assaulted when she was 6, the chief said.

“The victim’s mother immediately notified the local law enforcement where she is currently living and they referred her to the Bishop Police Department,” he said.

Upon her notifying the Bishop Police Department, Lawrence contacted Texas Ranger Robert Garza and requested his assistance.

After meeting with the victim’s mother at the Bishop Police Department, the victim was interviewed by a forensic interviewer at the Nueces County Children’s Advocacy Center.

“The victim provided an extremely detailed interview of her traumatic ordeal, which leads authorities to believe she is telling the truth,” Lawrence said.

“Based on the evidence obtained, an affidavit for an arrest warrant was filed with Nueces County Pct. 5, Justice of the Peace, Bobby Gonzalez. Judge Gonzalez issued an arrest warrant for Hector Cavazos Jr. charging him with aggravated sexual assault of a child,” Lawrence said.

“The victim stated that she didn’t tell anyone when it happened because Hector told her, ‘That if she ever told anyone what he did, he would hurt her mother and her mothers baby’,” the chief said.

Nueces First Assistant District Attorney Mark Skurka recommended a bond of $100,000. Upon receiving the warrant, Lawrence and Garza went to the Kleberg County Jail to interview Cavazos and serve the arrest warrant.

“During the interview, Cavazos denied the allegations and stated that at one point in the past, the victim’s biological father had stated that he was going to make up something like this to get even with him for being with the victim’s mother,” the chief said.

“Cavazos was asked to take a polygraph test to show his innocence but at the end of his interview, declined and stated that he will talk to his attorney first,” Lawrence said.

Cavazos will eventually be transferred to the Nueces County Jail to face the charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.

“Authorities feel they have a strong case against Cavazos at this time and do not see any problems obtaining a conviction, which will hopefully place him behind bars in the Texas Department of Corrections for many years to come,” Lawrence said.