On July 15, 2014, Carlos Alberto Portillo, 35, a citizen of El Salvador, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the offense of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. The sentence was handed down by 397th District Judge Brian Gary pursuant to a plea agreement reached with Portillo by the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office. On December 28, 2013, the Sherman Police Department received a call from a 40-year-old Sherman woman that Portillo, who was the woman’s live-in boyfriend, had sexually assaulted the woman’s 8-year-old granddaughter. The woman, who had legal custody of her four grandchildren, from ages 3 to 9, had noted strange behavior in her granddaughter. Upon asking the young girl if anyone had touched her, the grandmother was told that Portillo had been having sexual contact with the girl for several weeks. The woman told the police that when she confronted Portillo about the girl’s outcry, Portillo originally denied it, but then confessed to her and apologized.
Officers took Portillo to the Sherman Police Department, and upon being questioned, he confessed to having sexual contact with the girl on many occasions over the last 6 months. The girl was taken to the Grayson County Children’s Advocacy Center where she was interviewed and a sexual assault medical examination was completed. The examination confirmed signs of injury.
“We just hate to see these cases,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown. “There are just too many of them. It is certainly somewhat uncommon to get a confession from the offender like this, but the Sherman Police Department does a good job with their interrogations, and we do get confessions occasionally. They have Spanish speaking officers, and they are well-trained on interview techniques.”
“It is also interesting that this offender is from El Salvador," Brown noted. "There should be no misperception that all of the immigrants coming here from Central America are law abiding.”
Portillo will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years of his sentence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Brett Smith. Portillo was represented by Sherman attorney John Nix.
Poster Comment:
Can you believe that a County DA would say that out loud and on record??????