A San Angelo man has been sentenced to eight decades behind bars for the sexual exploitation of two minors, reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Texas. The 29-year-old Carlos Julian Ruiz, previously required to register as a sex offender following an assault in 2013, has been found to have continued his unlawful acts against children.
Ruiz's disturbing activities came to light after authorities discovered a mobile messaging app group chat where he and others shared exploitative content of children. Court documents detail that among the innocent exploited was a seven-year-old girl, whom Ruiz assaulted multiple times from September 2022 to January 2023. His depravity extended to forming friendships with the parents of two younger children, only to betray their trust in the most heinous way. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ruiz filmed the sexual abuse of two young sisters, ages three and two, and planned to grant another abuser access to one of the girls.
Details of the case reveal a premeditated and calculated series of acts that culminated in December 2022, when Ruiz transported the girls to a hotel for abuse, meeting with fellow abuser Trevor Metterhauser. The latter, reportedly a part of the same messaging app group, is awaiting trial in a separate case.
"Those who use children for their own twisted sexual gratification will not walk free in the Western District of Texas," U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons told the U.S. Department of Justice. FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp added that the collaborative effort between multiple FBI offices and the U.S. Attorney's Office resulted in the rescue of multiple victims and the apprehension of a violent offender.
