San Antonio Lawyer Arrested Two Years After Alleged Courthouse Assault On Client

A veteran San Antonio defense attorney was arrested this week on a charge of indecently assaulting a woman he represented in a divorce case, nearly two years after she says the encounter happened inside the Bexar County Courthouse. Arnulfo Ortiz, who has practiced law in Texas since 1985, was booked on August 25 and released on a $5,000 bond, according to court and jail records.

According to KABB, the woman told investigators the incident happened on September 11, 2024, after she and Ortiz had finished their business in presiding court. She said Ortiz walked with her to a nearby conference room, where he grabbed her hand and allegedly told her, “Look how you left me. What are we going to do about it?” The woman told investigators she pulled her hand away immediately and responded, “That's not my problem,” before leaving the conference room and the courthouse.

The woman later reported the incident to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, according to the same report, alleging that Ortiz had also kissed her near the side of her mouth without her consent and placed her hand on his genitals. She told investigators she later saw Ortiz outside the courthouse following the encounter. Ortiz has been charged with indecent assault, a Class A misdemeanor.

A Statute Created to Fill a Legal Gap

Texas lawmakers created the state's stand-alone indecent assault statute, Penal Code Section 22.012, in September 2019 to give prosecutors a distinct charge for non-consensual sexual contact — such as unwanted touching of the genitals, breasts, or anus — that falls short of penetration, according to Saputo Toufexis. Before that law existed, this kind of allegation was often prosecuted only as a lower-level Class C misdemeanor offensive-contact case. A Class A misdemeanor conviction in Texas carries a punishment of up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both, under Texas Penal Code Section 12.21, as detailed by FindLaw.

Beyond the criminal exposure, the allegations touch on a specific ethics rule governing lawyers and their clients. Rule 1.13 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct bars a licensed attorney from having sexual relations with a client unless the two were married or already in a consensual relationship before the representation began, according to the Law Office of Betty Blackwell. That rule means Ortiz could face a State Bar grievance process separate from any outcome in his criminal case.

Nearly Two Years Between Report and Arrest

One of the more striking elements of the case is the timeline: the alleged conference-room encounter took place in September 2024, but Ortiz was not formally arrested until August 25, 2026 — a gap of nearly two years. Investigations into allegations arising inside government facilities like courthouses can take considerable time to work through a sheriff's office before charges are filed.

Ortiz's professional history includes a prior brush with state legal regulators. Public disciplinary records maintained by the State Bar of Texas show he received a public reprimand on April 16, 2002, and had previously served a fully probated license suspension from December 1, 1996, through November 30, 1997. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in August 1982 and has run a solo San Antonio practice handling criminal defense, family law, and personal injury matters.

A Familiar Name in Bexar County Courts and Local Politics

Ortiz has long been a fixture in the Bexar County court system. Historical public defender records show that between 2017 and 2022 he received $50,103.25 in total court-appointed attorney compensation across more than 200 criminal cases in county and district courts, according to Texas Defense Lawyer. He also previously worked as a government staffer in both the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress, per the San Antonio Report, before turning to private practice and local campaigns.

Ortiz ran for San Antonio City Council District 1 in the May 3, 2025 municipal election, finishing with 118 votes in a field of 10 candidates, according to KSAT. District 1 covers central San Antonio, including downtown and several historic urban neighborhoods.

His arrest also lands amid a rough stretch for the local defense bar. Ortiz was booked two weeks after another prominent San Antonio defense attorney, Neil Calfas, was arrested on August 12 following a Texas DPS raid on his downtown office tied to an unrelated human trafficking and prostitution solicitation investigation. Both cases now have well-known local defense attorneys facing criminal charges connected to alleged sexual misconduct, underscoring a difficult moment for the profession in Bexar County.