Daniel Chavez
An Odessa man accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl nearly five years ago was found not guilty Tuesday.
Daniel Anthony Chavez, 39, faced two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 161st Ector County District Court.
The alleged victim told jurors Monday Chavez came into her room early on the morning of Nov. 20, 2018, shortly after her little sister fell out of bed and put her back into bottom bunk of the bed they shared. Her sister took up the entire bed, so she curled up on the floor with a blanket, she said.
Sometime later, she said Chavez came back and digitally penetrated her and performed oral sex on her. She testified her mother came into the room moments later and confronted Chavez at which point he partially pulled up her pajama bottoms and ran to the bathroom to wash his face and hands.
The girl testified Chavez later begged her not to tell authorities what had happened.
On Tuesday, prosecutors Kortney Williams and Rikki Earnest showed jurors the taped interview of Chavez conducted by then Ector County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Donald Allbrooks and rested their case.
Defense attorney Luis Chavez then opened his case by putting his client on the stand.
Daniel Chavez testified that a few hours after the children in the home went to bed that night, he took a shower and brushed his teeth. He then noticed both girls were asleep on the floor. Assuming the younger one had fallen out of bed, he pulled the blanket the girls shared back and placed her back into bed. He then went back into the bathroom to put his socks on and noticed he had toothpaste on his chin. The defendant testified he lathered up his hands and washed the toothpaste off his face.
While he was coming out of the bathroom, Daniel Chavez said he was confronted by the girl’s mother, who was already on the phone with 911. It was only then that he looked into the girls’ bedroom and realized the older girl was partially exposed.
Daniel Chavez told his attorney he thinks the girl’s mother jumped to conclusions because of events in her past and testified there’d been a lot of tension in the home leading up to that night.
He also testified he has no idea what the alleged victim had been doing while he was in the bathroom washing his face, but she’d been covered up in the blanket when he moved her sister to the bed. Earlier in the trial, Luis Chavez’s co-counsel, Anthony Chavez, had asked a licensed professional counselor about when adolescents begin exploring their sexuality.
The defendant also refuted the girl’s testimony about their conversation that night. He testified he only told her to tell the truth because he could go to jail if she didn’t.
During cross-examination from Williams, Daniel Chavez acknowledged he was “pretty buzzed” from alcohol that night, but said being intoxicated doesn’t lead him to do things he normally wouldn’t do. He then had to acknowledge he’s been arrested twice for driving while intoxicated.
The defendant also acknowledged his testimony about the girl’s pajama bottoms was inconsistent. He testified he doesn’t know how they came to ride low on the girl’s body, but he told Allbrooks they must have come off when he moved the blanket to put the younger girl back in bed.
Williams also questioned Daniel Chavez about the sequence of events. She reminded him both the girl and her mother testified the mother confronted him as he exited the bedroom, but he testified she confronted him as he came out of the bathroom.
“How did she know you had just come from the kids’ bedroom if she confronted you in the bathroom?” Williams asked.
Williams then took the defendant through many of the details of that night that were provided by the girl and asked him if they were true.
He acknowledged every one of them was true. Up until the point where she said he sexually assaulted her, he said. He would never do something like that, Daniel Chavez testified.
Jurors also learned Tuesday there was no DNA evidence linking the defendant to the girl. However, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Tela Whitley testified she didn’t expect to find any given the acts allegedly performed by Daniel Chavez.
Judge Justin Low is presiding over the trial.
