BRENHAM MAN CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX CRIMES GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE BY JURY

  

A Brenham man convicted of several felony sex acts has been handed a life sentence.

27-year-old Hector Mancilla-Mendoza was convicted and sentenced Thursday by a Washington County jury. He was sentenced to two life sentences and two 20 year sentences.  Judge Reva Towslee-Corbett ordered the life sentences be served consecutively.

Mancilla-Mendoza was found guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child, Aggravated Sexual Assault, and two counts of Sexual Performance of a Child. There is no parole for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child.

Mancilla-Mendoza was indicted in June 2018 on the charges, after an investigation in 2017 by the Brenham Police Department. According to a release by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, investigation began after the child’s mother discovered video in an old cell phone of Mancilla-Mendoza sexually assaulting the victim on multiple occasions.

At the time of the recordings, Mancilla-Mendoza was living with the victim, but when the videos were discovered he had moved out of the state. He was arrested on October 15^th by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, after a warrant was issued by Brenham police.  He was transferred in November to the Washington County Jail.

Sexual Performance of a Child is a second degree felony with punishment ranging from 2-20 years. Aggravated Sexual Assault is a first degree felony with punishment range of 5-99 years, or life.  Both those charges allow for parole consideration after Mancilla has completed the lesser of half the sentence, or 30 years.  Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child is a first degree felony with range of 25-99 years, or life, with no possibility of parole.

After the trial, Assistant District Attorney Lauren Haevischer said it takes a lot of bravery for a child to come forward and describe these kinds of tragic events to a room full of strangers. District Attorney Julie Renken said these are some of the hardest cases to try, but also some of the most rewarding when someone like this “goes to prison for so long”.