By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (September 15, 2016) — A Dublin man sent to prison in 2011 for aggravated sexual assault faces new charges. Aaron Jaimes Yepez, 33, was indicted by an Erath County grand jury for the second time Wednesday for sexual acts against a child, a first-degree felony.
Yepez was recently paroled after serving half of the previous 11-year sentence and immediately transferred into the custody of federal immigration authorities. He was awaiting deportation to Mexico when the more recent charges were filed, according to District Attorney Alan Nash.
“He was served a warrant for his arrest on the (latest) aggravated sexual assault charges while in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) custody,” Nash said.
Yepez has remained in the Erath County Jail since he was picked up by officials with the Erath County Sheriff’s Office on May 3. He was arrested a little more than a month after his alleged victim made an outcry about the abuse, saying she was victimized by Yepez before she entered kindergarten.
She reported the sexual assault during the investigation of an unrelated case, according to the affidavit for Yepez’s arrest, which is dated April 28 of this year and signed by Investigator Anthony Yocham with the Erath County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the affidavit, local investigators received a report and video recorded statement from the Mount Vernon Police Department referencing an outcry by a 13-year-old Hispanic female, who has been given the pseudonym Sophia Young.
The affidavit says before revealing details on the Erath County abuse case, Sophia spoke of ongoing sexual abuse by her step-father. The allegations were made at the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center in Winnsboro on April 12.
About an hour after the interview began, Sophia spoke of earlier abuse. The victim said Yepez had committed similar acts against her in 2009, when she was five or six years old. At that time, Sophia’s family lived in the Dublin area.
During the interview, Sophia said she was previously too afraid to report the crime and was also concerned her mother would not believe her.
“Sophia Young stated that she was worried that she might get kicked out of the house or that her family would go back to the women’s shelter or someplace that she didn’t want to go,” the affidavit states, referencing physical abuse by the girl’s biological father.
Providing graphic details on repeated occurrences, the victim said Yepez ordered her to put on skirts “without shorts” and sit on his lap.
“He would then start touching her,” the affidavit explains. “He had her sitting facing away from him and then would tell her to open her legs.”
The contact allegedly escalated from groping to manual penetration and sexual intercourse and occurred on multiple occasions.
In the earlier case, Yepez was also charged with aggravated sexual assault. The victim in that case was a female under the age of 14 and the daughter of Yepez’s girlfriend. The offense reportedly occurred in the Dublin area in June 2010. A jury found him guilty of that offense in January 2011 and recommended the 11-year prison sentence.
A first-degree felony carries a sentence of 5 to 99 years – or life – in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
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