CALDWELL MAN CONVICTED FOR CONTINUOUS SEXUAL ABUSE OF YOUNG CHILD
A Burleson County man has been convicted of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child.
(Burleson Co. Jail)
39-year-old Aurelio Hernandez-Cruz of Caldwell was convicted late Friday evening by a jury in Burleson County.
Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child is a first degree felony with special punishment range of 25-99 years, or life, in prison, with no chance for parole.
Hernandez-Cruz was indicted last April on the charges, after an investigation by the Caldwell Police Department. The outcry of abuse was made in Travis County, so Austin police originally began the investigation, but the case was referred to Caldwell once it was discovered the abuse occurred in Burleson County.
The victim was 11-years-old at the time the abuse was reported, and described regularly occurring sexual abuse since age 7 at the hands of Hernandez-Cruz. The victim, now 13, testified along with two former foster parents, law enforcement, and a forensic nurse.
District Attorney Julie Renken said after the trial that this is the second case of continuous sexual abuse tried this year by Assistant District Attorneys Lauren Haevischer and John Brennan. She said “nothing we can do can give a child victim what they’ve lost, but we will continue to seek justice on their behalf”.
Haevischer and Brennan represented the State, while Trey Dunne and Bruno Shimek represented the Defendant.
Judge Carson Campbell presided over the trial, and will assess punishment after a hearing at a later date. A date for sentencing has not been set at this point.