By J. NOEL ESPINOZA
Special to the NEWS
Reymunda Hernandez
A 45-year-old woman faces up to 20 years behind bars for allegedly selling and allowing a man to sexually assault an 11-year-old girl in San Benito.
Cameron County Sheriff’s investigators identified the woman, who’s closely related to the minor, as Reymunda Hernandez.
Although the alleged sexual abuse had been going on for nearly three years, authorities say, it wasn’t until recently that the minor made an outcry, according to Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio. Lucio said the incident was reported last month to sheriff’s investigators by Children’s Advocacy Group.
Lucio identified the male suspect as 41-year-old Jorge Tamez.
Jorge Tamez
Lucio said Hernandez ordered the young girl to undress for the male suspect who’s still at large. These incidents occurred in the outskirts of San Benito along Rancho Grande Street.
“The man had a fantasy to have oral sex with a young girl,” Lucio said. “He supposedly paid the lady. We’re still looking for him. We have a warrant for his arrest.”
Lucio said Hernandez failed to protect the 11-year-old girl and instead tried to profit without any regard to her safety.
Authorities charged Hernandez with failure to report a sexual assault, and three counts of aggravated sexual assault. A bond of $305,000 was set for Hernandez, who also faces up to $10,000 in fines.
“She’s in jail and he’s still on the loose,” Lucio said.
Lucio said these kinds of incidents aren’t common, but they do happen in the area. He added that the man wasn’t intimately related to Hernandez.
“Unfortunately, it happened to this young girl,” Lucio said. “This (man) is somebody she knew from the neighborhood.”
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Tamez is encouraged to contact local police or the sheriff’s office at (956) 350-5551.
1 comments
Hope he gets caught.