Former Bishop resident Hector Cavazos Jr., 35, was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Judge Marisela Saldana, presiding in the Nueces County 148th District Court, sentenced Cavazos on Wednesday.

Cavazos could be eligible for parole in 30 years, but state legislators passed a law that inmates must serve a minimum of 85 percent of their time behind bars for violent crimes against children, which means that he could spend 51 years in prison before being released at the age of 86.

Testimony began Aug. 24 and the state witnesses included Texas Ranger Robert Garza, the victim’s mother and the juvenile victim.

The mother provided the court with graphic details of the incident.

“These offenses occurred when her daughter was between the ages of five and six years old and she notified law enforcement officials,” Bishop Chief of Police Larry L. Lawrence said.

The victim, now 13 years old was alert, calm, brave and gave a very detailed and graphic testimony to the senseless and terrible crime that happened to her almost seven years ago,” the chief said.

“Even with the predator sitting in the audience, she did not hold back and remembered that horrible day that completely ruined her life and took her innocence,” Lawrence said.

After the victim’s testimony, her counselor, Leigh Motes, and Ricardo Jimenez, the forensic interviewer from the Nueces County Children’s Advocacy Center took the stand.

Saldana asked the defense if it had any witnesses; there were no defense witnesses and Cavazos did not testify.

“I feel so sorry for her but at the same time, I am, along with Ranger Garza, Nueces County Assistant District Attorney Brittany Jensen, who prosecuted the case, extremely proud of her to be so young and be so brave to sit on the witness stand and re-live the entire event in front of people she did not know,” Lawrence said.

After closing arguments from the state, a jury of eight women and four men began deliberations and within 50 minutes reached a guilty verdict.

During the punishment phase, Jensen produced evidence that Cavazos’ punishment should be enhanced because he had a prior conviction and spent four years in prison already for a possession of a controlled substance charge. Because of this felony conviction and time served, the penalty was enhancedto 15 to 99 years.

Cavazos’s attorney told the court that although he respects the jury’s verdict, he said the evidence was weak and there were no witnesses other than the victim. He requested that he be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years.

“Are there any winners in this particular case, absolutely not. The victim is and will be scarred for the rest of her life,” Lawrence stated.

“There probably won’t be a day in her life that goes by that she won’t think about all that she has been through in her short and delicate life; she is not a winner,” the chief said.

“Hector Cavazos and his family — they are not winners either; they have lost the ability to touch, hold, talk, with and share special moments such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays together for at least 30 years,” Lawrence said, “but he absolutely has no one to blame other than himself, his actions that day, and the people who either sold him or gave him cocaine that he was addicted to.”

Lawrence explained the history of this case, which began about six years ago when Cavazos was living with his girlfriend, who was pregnant at that time with his child, and her six year old daughter.

According to affidavits and Child Protective Service reports, her mother left her with Cavazos at the apartment when she went to work. The daughter told her mother that Cavazos had slapped her and described other abuses.

After the birth of their child, and when their baby was seven months old, CPS removed both children because of allegations of physical, and sexual abuse in their home.

The victim’s mother said that she and Cavazos were using cocaine heavily on a regular basis and had a very rocky and unstable relationship. After her children were removed she moved from Bishop and sought drug addiction help.

“She eventually kicked her habit and has been sober for over five years and doing extremely well for herself,” Lawrence stated.

“She has also regained custody of both of her children and continues to live away from Bishop and has only had contact with Cavazos one time since the child was born.”

In November of 2009 Cavazos was served with an arrest warrant at the Kleberg County jail and was questioned about the aggravate assault charges. He declined a polygraph test and was later transferred to Nueces County Jail and through his attorney, Vince Gonzalez, agreed to take a polygraph test, which he failed badly, according to Lawrence.