On September 25, 2024, 43-year-old Marbel Garcia-Catalan of Dallas was found guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child in a Dallas County court room. As a result, Garcia-Catalan was sentenced to life in prison by the jury. The victim in the case was under the age of 14.
The offense took place around between August 7, 2013 and August 6, 2016 and was arrested/charged on July 20th, 2023.
The abuse came to light when the victim, now over the age of 18, was at school and told her counselor that she was having flashbacks of being sexually assaulted.
The victim identified Garcia-Catalan as the abuser and also mentioned that her sister had been abused. She described in detail the gruesome rape when she was a child. At the time, she did not inform her mother "because she was afraid", according to court records. She also testified that she was raped a second time by Garcia-Catalan when she was five or six years old. Garcia-Catalan was living at the home during the time of abuse. He is the cousin of the victim's stepfather.
During the trial, the jury also heard from an additional victim found by investigators. The case was prosecuted by Janie Martinez and Delayna Griffin. The DA investigator was Tom McGrath and the DA Victim Advocate was Flor De La Fuente.
Case Against Miguel Rodriguez
In a separate case, repeat offender Miguel Rodriguez was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for Sexual Assault of a Child. Rodriguez had previously been convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in 1995 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison for that case.
The case against Rodriguez was prosecuted by Kalle Riner and Jennifer Sawyer.
Case Against Serratos Javier Andrade
On September 26, 2024, 61-year-old Serratos Javier Andrade of Dallas was found guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child under the age of 14. The jury sentenced him to life in prison. The abuse started in July of 2015 when the victim was 10 years old.
The case was prosecuted by Joel Abraham and Ann Duffy. The DA Investigator was Barry Maxwell and the DA Victim Advocate was Franchesca Zarate.
