Texas Border Business
MISSION, Texas – A Hidalgo County jury found Jorge Enrique Sanchez, 49, of Mission, guilty of one count of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child, four counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, and one count of Sexual Assault of a Child.
On February 22, 2017, the Edinburg Police Department received a report of a 14-year-old child who had been sexually assaulted. The child was interviewed by a forensic interviewer and underwent a sexual assault examination. During each of these examinations, the child made an outcry that she had been sexually assaulted by the defendant for 5 years.
On September 13, 2024, Sanchez was found guilty by a Hidalgo County jury on all counts and was sentenced to 40 years on Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child and 20 years on Sexual Assault of a Child. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively for a total prison sentence of 60 years. There is no parole eligibility for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. The case was heard by Judge Ysmael Fonseca in the 476th District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas. In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Fonseca stated, “Mr. Sanchez, our children are off limits.”
“The DA’s office shares that sentiment and I believe that the jury’s verdict also expresses the sentiment that the children of Hidalgo County are off limits,” said Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Edinburg Police Department, the Hidalgo and Starr County Children’s Advocacy Center, and Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance Safe Haven.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney of Major Crimes Hope Palacios.
