A 28-year-old Austin man was being held in Bell County Jail, with no bond set by Wednesday afternoon, after authorities say a 13-year-old Killeen girl reported that she had been sexually abused for roughly two years, starting when she was in fourth or fifth grade. Martin Esquivel was booked into the jail Tuesday afternoon and remained there Wednesday, facing a first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14.
The case began on the night of January 29, 2026, when Killeen police officers were dispatched to Advent Medical Hospital to respond to a report of a sexual assault outcry by the 13-year-old girl, according to KWKT-FOX 44. Investigators say the abuse occurred numerous times at a residence in Killeen, and that it also occurred at a residence in Austin. Police say the abuse continued until very recently before the girl came forward.
How the Investigation Reached an Arrest
Nearly seven weeks after the hospital report, Bell County Justice of the Peace Nicola James issued a warrant for Esquivel's arrest on March 18, 2026, the same day the Bell County District Attorney's Office returned a complaint for continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. James serves Precinct 4, Place 2 in Bell County, covering the Killeen and Harker Heights area.
Esquivel was not arrested until August 28, when authorities in Austin took him into custody, months after the warrant was signed. He was then transferred to Bell County Jail and booked in Tuesday afternoon, where, as of Wednesday, no bond had been set. The station's report does not specify what led to the roughly five-month gap between the warrant's issuance and the arrest.
Why Hospitals Move Fast on Outcry Reports
The swift notification to police from AdventHealth Killeen reflects Texas's mandatory reporting law. Under Texas Family Code § 261.101, as updated by Senate Bill 571 in June 2025, licensed medical professionals must report suspected child abuse to authorities no later than 24 hours after first suspecting it, according to Trails Country Reporter. Before that law changed, certified professionals had up to 48 hours to file the same reports.
The Weight of a Continuous Abuse Charge
Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 is a first-degree felony under Texas Penal Code § 21.02, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years up to life in prison with no eligibility for parole, per Deandra Grant Law. Prosecutors are not required to secure unanimous jury agreement on exact dates or individual acts, only that jurors agree two or more qualifying acts occurred over a period of 30 or more days.
The statute traces back to 2007, when Texas passed House Bill 8, known as Jessica's Law, eliminating statutes of limitations for severe child sexual offenses and instituting the mandatory 25-year minimum, according to Scheiner Law. The law was designed specifically for cases where young victims cannot pinpoint precise dates for individual abusive events — a gap prosecutors in Esquivel's case will not need to close.
Part of a Broader Pattern Across Central Texas
Bell County's case fits a pattern of continuous-abuse prosecutions moving through Central Texas courts this year. In August, a Travis County jury convicted 36-year-old Samuel Ramirez of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and sentenced him to 25 years without parole, Hoodline previously reported. Earlier this month, 58-year-old Bryce Chatland received a 40-year sentence in Bexar County after pleading guilty to abuse spanning nearly a decade, while Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional officer David Wayne Beard was arrested and held on $500,000 bond over alleged conduct dating back to 2014.
Esquivel is being held at the Bell County Jail complex in Belton, a detention facility designed for approximately 900 inmates before an expansion that would more than double bed capacity, according to Correctional News. The case remains ongoing.
