FILE
A North Texas man has been sentenced to life in prison for a second conviction of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Joe Angel Rodriguez, of Denison, was found guilty by a Collin County jury.
Investigators said Rodriguez, 44, was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2007 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in 2016 and became close with two separate families and had access to two children, one in McKinney and one in Farmers Branch.
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Officers said it was during that time that Rodriguez sexually abused both children.
The child in McKinney eventually told her father, who notified the police, leading to Rodriguez's arrest. Later that year, police said without knowing anything about the McKinney case, the child in Farmers Branch told her mother about an assault and the parent then notified the police.
At trial, the jury heard evidence of Rodriguez's history of child abuse, as well as evidence that Rodriguez also abused both the McKinney child and the Farmers Branch child.
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"The fact that a convicted child predator ever has the opportunity to abuse another child, much less two children, is tragic for the entire community. The life sentence in this case will ensure that never happens again," said Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis after sentencing.
By law, Rodriguez received an automatic sentence of life in prison because of his prior conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
