Two men convicted of child sexual abuse in McLennan County

MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas – Two men were found guilty and sentenced to prison for child sexual abuse in two separate trials in McLennan County during the week of June 28, according to the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.

According to the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office, 42-year-old Ruben Arredondo and 36-year-old Julio Arellano-Alvarez were both found guilty in their respective trials and sentenced to prison terms of several decades.

Arredondo was found guilty on seven counts, prosecutors said, including four counts of sexual abuse of a child, one count of indecent conduct with a child and two counts of prohibited sexual conduct. All of those counts are second-degree felonies punishable by two to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Arredondo “committed repeated acts of abuse against the victim” over several years, but could not charge him with continued sexual abuse of a child because the victim was over 14 years old at the time of the abuse.

After finding Arredondo guilty on all counts, the jury imposed the maximum sentence of 20 years on each count, prosecutors said. Judge Thomas West ordered that six of Arredondo’s sentences be served concurrently, with the seventh being in addition to the others.

The Arredondo case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Washington and Mark Martinez.

Arellano-Alvarez was convicted by a different jury of continued sexual abuse of a child under 14, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Arellano-Alvarez sexually abused a 12-year-old family acquaintance over a period of three months.

After Arellano-Alvarez was convicted, prosecutors said the jury had imposed a sentence of 35 years in prison. According to prosecutors, the penalty for continuous sexual abuse of a child is 25 years to life without parole, meaning Arellano-Alvarez must serve the entire 35-year sentence.

The Arellano-Alvarez case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Tara Avants and Luke McCowan.

“As prosecutors, we have no greater duty than to protect the children of McLennan County,” McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens said in a statement. “Our office will continue to work tirelessly to hold child predators accountable and remove them from our community.”