A Texas man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a toddler will keep away from prosecution on 9 felony counts after putting a plea cope with a George Soros-backed Travis County prosecutor, based on a report.
Austin’s ABC affiliate KVUE reported that Richard Leigh Bell, 37, was indicted on 9 felony prices — together with one depend of steady sexual abuse of a kid beneath 14, six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a kid, and two counts of indecency with a toddler.
These prices had been dropped as a part of a plea deal that allowed Bell to plead responsible to 1 depend of harm to a toddler, a third-degree felony.
Beneath the deal, Bell was sentenced to 5 years of deferred probation.
He should register as a intercourse offender and is barred from contacting the sufferer, her household, or any minors, KVUE reported.
The plea included no jail time.
Outdoors the courtroom on Monday, the sufferer’s father advised KVUE he was blindsided by the choice and mentioned prosecutors Efrain De La Fuente and Lorraine Garcia failed to incorporate him in discussions concerning the plea.
“I used to be outraged to search out out that this was not solely our first and final plea deal, however this was our deal whether or not I preferred it or not,” he mentioned.
The daddy, who was not named to guard the sufferer’s id, mentioned he had anticipated a jail sentence for Bell.
“I feel any dad or mum would anticipate any individual to rot in jail for doing one thing like this,” he advised KVUE. “As time went on, I anticipated a sensible plea deal to be years at the least—lengthy sufficient to serve a while in jail the place you belong when you have efficiently carried out pedophilic acts.”
In Texas, deferred adjudication lets defendants keep away from a conviction in the event that they full probation efficiently, although any violation can set off sentencing on the unique cost.
Bell’s probation situations — together with obligatory intercourse offender registration and no-contact restrictions — will stay in place for the whole five-year time period.
Fox Information Digital has reached out to Travis County District Legal professional Jose Garza’s workplace and has not acquired a response.
Garza, who took workplace in deep-blue Travis County in 2021 after a marketing campaign backed by progressive billionaire Soros, pledged to “reimagine” legal justice and prosecute cops. He has defended his file as district lawyer, saying he’s “doing precisely what Travis County voters elected him to do — fixing our damaged legal justice system by standing with survivors, working to finish the extreme use of power by police, and prioritizing remedy over incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses.”
Critics have argued that Garza’s workplace has did not advocate for victims and has promoted insurance policies that make the town much less secure.
He has additionally confronted scrutiny for aggressively prosecuting cops in a metropolis nonetheless divided over the council’s 2020 resolution to chop police funding.
That stress got here to a head in 2023, when Garza sparked outrage for showing on the funeral of a fallen police officer — a transfer some known as “a slap within the face.”
