A Texas deputy has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old and threatening the girl's undocumented immigrant mother with deportation if she went to police.
Jose Nunez, 47, a 10-year veteran of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, faces a minimum of 25 years in jail after being charged with super aggravated sexual assault of a child
Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a press conference the mother of the young victim came forward to a local fire station after the girl cried out for help.
Police believe Nunez may have abused the girl over several months, possibly up to two years.
Salazar added that Nunez "utilized" the fact that the girl's mother was an undocumented immigrant and used this to "place her in fear" that she would be deported if she tried to report the abuse.
Salazar described the case involving one of the department's own deputies as "heartbreaking, disturbing, disgusting, and infuriating all at the same time."
He added that there may be more potential victims and urged others to come forward.
"Folks like this are creatures of habit and opportunity," Salazar said. "I don't know that he was purposely targeting the undocumented community. Certainly what was appealing was the vulnerability of that community because they are less apt to report things."
Salazar also urged people who may be witness to a crime to come forward, even if they are an undocumented immigrant.
"Just like we're doing in this case, we are filling out paper with the witness in question to make sure she is given protected status pending the outcome of this case," he said.
"It's important that they feel comfortable enough to give us a call and report the crime."
Salazar said next the next stage of the investigation will involve separating Nunez from the agency "as soon as possible."
"We will absolutely arrest you if you break the law and it doesn't matter if you wear a uniform, if you carry a badge, if you carry a gun. If you break the law, you are going to jail," he added.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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