A Hays County jury June 5 sentenced an Illinois man to 99 years in prison after it convicted him of aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child.
Punishment for Reymundo Montiel, Jr., 41, of Pickneyville, IL, came after a nearly two week trial surrounding his abuse of two girls in 2014 and 2015. Montiel was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, both first-degree felony offenses, as well as two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, both second-degree felonies. Montiel was convicted on all four counts.
According to a press release, two victims testified Montiel began sexually assaulting them in 2014 while they were asleep. When confronted, Montiel confessed to the victims’ mother after he believed he had impregnated one of the girls.
However, Montiel then fled in summer 2015 to Illinois where he committed, was convicted, and later sentenced to prison in that state for aggravated battery. Montiel, who was indicted in May 2016 for the sexual assaults committed in Hays County, was extradited to Hays County in March 2018 to face the four felony charges.
Montiel, a habitual offender, had been convicted of aggravated battery four other times between 1995 and 2005 in Illinois. He was eligible for a minimum punishment of 25 years to life in prison.
The jury sentenced Montiel to 99 years for the aggravated sexual assault charges and 60 years for the indecency with a child charges. All sentences will run concurrently.
Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau thanked the victims and their families “who never gave up on justice,” as well as San Marcos Police and members of the Hays Caldwell Women’s Center who assisted with the investigation.
“Without persistent and brave victims willing to tell their stories and jurors willing to hear them, we cannot obtain justice. These victims got the justice they deserve, and in doing so, put a child predator where he belongs,” Mau said in a statement.
