A Texas judge sentenced a Honduran migrant man to life in prison this week for repeatedly sexually assaulting two young girls in 2020 and then attempting to kill them, the Harris County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.
Jose Olvin Martínez Lopez, 46, was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting 11- and 12-year-old girls and then breaking into their home in September 2020, attempting to kill them and burning down their houses. announcement He stated.
According to the release, Martinez-Lopez slashed the throat of one of the girls with a box cutter, then locked them both in a room, set the house on fire and fled.
Emergency personnel performed rescue operations on the girls and both survived, the release said. (Related article: Two illegal immigrants indicted for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl)
Jose Aubin Martinez Lopez pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two sisters, ages 11 and 12, then attempting to kill them by setting their home on fire. https://t.co/dGHtMG2IQj
— FOX26 Houston (@FOX26Houston) August 25, 2024
“We must protect our communities, our children from monsters like this,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. “Not only did he sexually assault two young girls, he tried to kill them and set their home on fire to cover his tracks. He is a predator.”
According to the release, Houston police investigators determined that Martinez-Lopez knew the girls' families and that he broke into their homes and killed them after the girls told their families about the abuse.
Authorities said Martinez Lopez had been planning to flee to Honduras but apparently missed his flight and was arrested by police while trying to board another flight from Houston.
“I've been a prosecutor for 24 years and this is one of the worst cases I've seen,” said Dennis Nichols, chief of the district attorney's Crimes Against Children unit. “It's just amazing to see how brave these girls were after knowing everything they'd been through. This was a time to speak out about what happened, get justice and move forward.”
Martinez Lopez cannot appeal his conviction but will be eligible for parole after serving at least 30 years of his sentence, according to the release.
