April 20, 2022
(McKinney, Texas) – Joe Angel Rodriguez, 44, of Denison, Texas, was sentenced to life in prison for Indecency with a Child, announced Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. “The fact that a convicted child predator ever has the opportunity to abuse another child, much less two children, is tragic for the entire community. The life sentence in this case will ensure that never happens again,” said Willis after sentencing.
In 2007, Rodriguez was convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in Dallas County and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After he was released from prison in 2016, he became close with two separate families and had access to two children, one in McKinney and one in Farmers Branch.
During that time, Rodriguez sexually abused each child. The child in McKinney eventually told her father. The father notified police and Rodriguez was arrested. Later that year, without knowing anything about the McKinney case, the Farmers Branch child out-cried to her mother, who also notified police.
McKinney Police Department Detective John Cook investigated the McKinney case. The child was forensically interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County, where the child disclosed details about the incident.
At trial, the jury heard evidence of Rodriguez’s history of child abuse, as well as evidence that Rodriguez also abused both the McKinney child and the Farmers Branch child. The jury found Rodriguez guilty.
Judge James Fry presided over the case and assessed the mandatory punishment of life in prison. By law, Rodriguez received an automatic sentence of life in prison because of his prior conviction for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Kailey Gillman and Stephani Brown prosecuted the case, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Gregory Bowers, Victim Assistance Coordinator Casey Hendrix, Legal Secretary Shaunette Bronson, and appellate attorney Lisa Braxton.
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