Waco man sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexually assaulting goddaughter

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A Waco man was sentenced to 35 years in prison with no parole Friday after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting his 12-year-old goddaughter in 2018.

Jurors in the 54th State District Court deliberated for about 3 hours before deciding punishment for Julio Arellano-Alvarez.

The jury deliberated almost 8 hours into the night Thursday before convicting the 36-year-old former truck driver of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

Arellano-Alvarez, who did not testify during the five-day trial, faced a minimum of 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole up to life in prison without parole.

Arellano-Alvarez’s victim, who is now 18, testified Tuesday that Arellano-Alvarez, a close friend of her family, abused her over a period of three months beginning when she was 12 years old.

McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens says that as prosecutors there is no greater duty than protecting the children of the county.

“Our office will continue to relentlessly hold child molesters accountable and remove them from our community,” Tetens said.

Arellano-Alvarez was defended by attorneys Robert Callahan and Scarlet Petrucci, who said the conviction would be appealed.

“It makes me sick to my stomach that all it takes is a woman blatantly lying to send a man to prison for virtually the rest of his life,” Petrucci said. “To call this a miscarriage of justice would be an understatement. I look forward to appealing the verdict.”

Callahan said the trial was difficult for everyone involved.

“While the verdict brings heartbreak, we appreciate the jury’s service and remember that justice is not a finite resource,” Callahan said. “Each of us, victims and accused, deserves an advocate in our misery and no one is above serving as that advocate. We hope for healing for the lives of everyone affected.”

The victim testified that her mother battles alcoholism and her father died by suicide, leaving her to fight her own battles with depression, anxiety and suicidal ideations. She said Arellano-Alvarez, her godfather, was a regular visitor at the apartment she shared with her mother, her stepfather and her siblings.

The woman told jurors that Arellano-Alvarez sexually assaulted her from 20-25 times at a Waco apartment, in the parking lot of an apartment complex where he formerly worked as a security guard and in the cab of an 18-wheeler while he was studying to be a truck driver.

In punishment phase testimony, the defense called Arellano-Alvarez’s mother Delia Arellano-Alvarez and his brother Martin Arellano, a McLennan County Sheriff’s Office corporal.

His brother testified that while he disagrees with the jury’s decision, he respects its service and verdict.

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