KTRH Local Houston and Texas News

KTRH Local Houston and Texas News

KTRH-AM covering local news from Houston and across Texas.

 

A Dozen Charged with Sexual Crimes Got Probation Cut Early in Harris County

Some Harris County judges have handed out early terminations of probation for at least a dozen people charged with sexual crimes.

According to records obtained by The Texan News, several Harris County judges have granted non-compliant defendants with early termination of their probations. Texas law requires that certain sexual offenders on probation must register as a sexual offender with the state. Termination of probation drops that requirement.

Reporter with The Texan Holly Hansen says in the last year, there were at least 12 defendants charged with sexual offenses that were given early terminations in Harris County.

"There have been judges that have been awarding even non-compliant defendants with early termination of their probations, sometimes just a few months after their initial sentencing," she explained.

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states that a “judge may not dismiss the proceedings and discharge a defendant charged with an offense that requires the defendant to register as a sex offender.”

Probation periods for certain sexual offenses depend on the severity of the crime and are mandated for either five or 10 years under state law. Defendants must also participate in the state’s sexual offender registry and may not be within 500 feet of a place with potential victims like schools or daycares.

One of the judges in question is Judge Melissa Morris of the 263rd District Criminal Court. Hansen said that Judge Morris awarded four of the early terminations, including one for Denis Javier Erazo-Sanchez, who in December of 2022 was charged with a level-three felony of Attempted Sexual Assault. In the 351st District Criminal Court, Judge Natalia Cornelio awarded early termination of probation to at least two defendants this year. The charges were for Indecency with a Child with Exposure and Indecency with a Child with Sexual Contact.

"There are a lot of questions about whether or not the judges in Harris County are complying with state law in the way that they are handling these cases," Hansen added.

The judges found to be giving unsatisfactory terminations are part of a wave of what Hansen calls "criminal justice reformers" that have assumed office over the past few elections.

"These are people who typically favor eliminating cash bail, they don't like pre-trial incarceration," said Hansen. "One facet of the criminal justice reform movement on the progressive side is to end these national databases that keep track of sexual offenders."

Defenders of registries say that it's important to track sexual offenders to make sure they are staying away from locations where there are children or other vulnerable persons.

The chances of someone being a repeat offender is high and sexual offenders don't always attend classes or training to help them overcome their tendencies. Hansen said they found that recent suspects were not attending these sessions at all, as required by the court. According to Hansen too, recidivism, the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend, is a term only used in Harris County and is not typically used in criminal reporting.

"These are not showing up in crime reports in a way that would indicate you have someone that is non-compliant, it just shows that their charges were disposed of," Hansen said.

This year, nine Republicans won judicial races in Harris County and 10 more won seats on the region’s appellate courts.


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