Conroe Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sexually Assaulting Two Young Girls

CONROE, TX -- On July 22, 2021, a Montgomery County jury found 33-year-old Jose Edmundo Zepeda of Conroe guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. On July 23, 2021, the Honorable Judge Kathleen Hamilton of the 359th District Court sentenced Zepeda to Life in prison.

Zepeda will not be eligible for parole.

Zepeda sexually abused an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old girl regularly from 2013 to 2016. In 2016, the girls told an adult about the abuse. From there, the girls went to Montgomery County's Children's Safe Harbor. Children's Safe Harbor provides services such as forensic interviews, sexual assault nurse examinations, and counseling for child victims of sexual or physical abuse. During their time at Children's Safe Harbor, the girls disclosed years of abuse and the struggles they have endured trying to process it. When Zepeda learned the girls had reported the abuse, he fled the state.

At some point, Zepeda returned to Montgomery County. In 2019, Officers from Conroe Police Department arrested Zepeda for DWI and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Because Zepeda was pending the sexual abuse charges, he was held in custody pending trial. Conroe Police Department Detective Sylvie Acklin investigated the allegations of sexual assault, and she later testified at trial.

In addition to Detective Acklin, the two girls provided emotional testimony to the jury of their years of abuse. Child abuse experts and therapists who have tried to help the girls heal from the trauma of Zepeda's assaults also testified. The jury deliberated a little over an hour before returning with a guilty verdict.

Prosecutor Wesley LeRouax: 'These two brave girls demonstrated great courage in sharing their history of abuse, abuse that began at a very young age, essentially destroyed their childhood, and continues to affect them today. The defendant was successful in avoiding the consequences of his actions for several years, but thanks to the excellent work of Conroe Police Department and Children's Safe Harbor, Zepeda finally received the punishment he deserved, and these courageous girls received the justice they deserved.'

Prosecutor Jacqueline Bello: 'No childhood should be filled with the memories these girls now have, and while those memories cannot be completely erased, our fervent hope is that the verdict of the jury and the sentence by the Court will allow the girls to finally feel supported, protected, and vindicated.'

District Attorney Brett Ligon: 'There is no place in this community or in any community for the Jose Zepedas of the world. People who abuse children deserve to be exactly where Zepeda is now heading — a prison cell. Forever.'