A San Marcos man who was about to stand trial on child sexual assault charges has instead taken a decades-long prison term.
Luis Daniel Rangel, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors said Rangel sexually abused the victim multiple times over several years while she was a child. The plea and sentence came right after a jury had been seated and just before opening statements were set to begin.
According to the Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office, Rangel was indicted in 2023 following a delayed outcry by the victim in 2022. The office said the alleged acts dated to 2014, 2017 and 2020, and that the three 30-year sentences will run concurrently. Prosecutors noted the victim was present in court for the plea and spoke during allocution about the ongoing trauma she continues to experience. Investigators from the Austin and San Marcos police departments assisted in the case.
Assistant Criminal District Attorney Cassidy Story, one of the prosecutors on the case, praised the victim’s resolve and thanked jurors who had already been selected, saying, “we hope that the closing of this chapter will open one that leads to continued healing.” The Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office said Story delivered those remarks after the plea and sentencing were entered.
How the case unfolded
Reporting by the San Antonio Express-News noted the alleged abuse occurred between 2014 and 2020, when the child was between about 7 and 12 years old. The outlet also reported that the guilty plea came just as the trial was set to begin, with jurors already selected in the courtroom. Local coverage confirmed that Rangel entered his plea to three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and that the case was prosecuted by the Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
Legal notes
Under Texas law, aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree felony that can carry punishments ranging from five to 99 years or life in prison, and convictions also come with long-term sex-offender registration requirements. For more on the statute and possible penalties, see the full text on Justia.
Hays County prosecutors have pursued stiff penalties in recent child-abuse prosecutions. Local reporting has highlighted another Hays County defendant who was sentenced to 218 years in a separate aggravated sexual assault case last year, illustrating the county’s aggressive approach to these crimes.
