RICHMOND, TX (Covering Katy News) - A jury convicted Gregorio Maldonado of Indecent Assault before Judge Dean Hrbacek assessed the maximum punishment allowed by law Monday afternoon.
The 46-year-old Katy man was sentenced to one year in county jail plus a fine of $4,000 for inappropriately touching a young woman in 2021.
According to lead prosecutor Michelle Anderson, Maldonado’s victim was a member of the Stafford church he pastored. The victim and her family lived with the defendant at the Katy home where the offense took place.
Prosecutors says on November 9, 2021, after everyone was asleep, Maldonado went into the victim’s bed, began to touch her inappropriately and made her touch him. The victim was afraid to make an initial outcry due to the defendant’s position in the church and his status in her family.
Eventually, in January 2022, the victim told her father about the assault which led to a confrontation between Maldonado and the victim’s family. This confrontation was recorded by the victim’s father; where Maldonado apologized to the woman, said he could not remember what happened, and stated if anything happened the devil made him do it.
At the close of trial, the defendant brought with him over one hundred members of his church.
"The young woman he victimized, standing strong as she always has, provided a Victim Impact Statement where she addressed the defendant and those in the courtroom," a press release from the District Attorney's Office said.
She thanked those church members in attendance who prayed for justice.
“The defendant abused his position of trust, and the victim has had to wait years for her day in court," Anderson said. "She has suffered invisible scars left by the defendant, some of which will remain for the rest of her life, but she is a survivor. She now plans on using her traumatic experience to benefit other victims; she plans on going to the police academy to become an investigator for sexual crimes.”
“Indecent Assault was a Class C offense, like a traffic ticket, until 2019 when the Texas Legislature increased the severity of the crime," said District Attorney Brian Middleton. "This is the first case of its kind tried in Fort Bend County. The verdict and sentence set a precedent that the people of Fort Bend County will not allow this kind of disgusting behavior and will not tolerate gross abuses of power.”
The defendant was tried in County Court at Law No. 6 by Assistant District Attorneys Michelle Anderson and Collin Scovill. Indecent Assault in this case is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to 365 days in county jail and a fine up to $4,000. Maldonado was probation eligible.