Ortega plea bargains for 10 years in prison
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Cassandra Renee Ortega, 19, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a 13-year-old child Monday before Judge Skipper Koetter in district court in Refugio.
Koetter sentenced the Woodsboro resident to 10 years in prison and an additional 10 years probation when and if Ortega is released on parole. Three other cases were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
A charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child from Oct. 25 through March 16, 2009, and two additional counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child were dismissed.
“We view this as a very serious case,” said Michael Sheppard, district attorney. “We were dealing with a very young victim and we’re glad we were able to get it resolved without having to put the victim through a trial.”
In exchange for Ortega’s guilty plea, “the state agrees not to pursue witness tampering against the defendant or any family members of the defendant,” according to the order.
Sheppard said Ortega was never indicted on witness tampering charges but allegations arose that she was attempting to manipulate witnesses from inside the county jail. Bond was set at $150,000 and she has been in jail since her arrest in April.
“We contemplated looking into it if we couldn’t resolve this case,” said Ray Hardy, assistant DA.
After her release, she must register as a sex offender in any city or county where she resides, according to court documents.
The terms of the plea bargain also stated that “upon Ortega’s release on parole and until the sentence in this case ceases to operate, the defendant shall not come within 500 yards of the victim’s residence, school or place of employment.”
She also is prohibited from “direct contacts, either directly or indirectly by or through any means, with the child victim. This means in person or by or through any third person, and includes but is not limited to contact in writing, by telephone, via text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail or any other electronic means.”
Had the plea agreement not been reached, Ortega could have faced from five to 99 years in prison, with a fine up to $10,000 for the first degree felonies.
Koetter sentenced the Woodsboro resident to 10 years in prison and an additional 10 years probation when and if Ortega is released on parole. Three other cases were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
A charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child from Oct. 25 through March 16, 2009, and two additional counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child were dismissed.
“We view this as a very serious case,” said Michael Sheppard, district attorney. “We were dealing with a very young victim and we’re glad we were able to get it resolved without having to put the victim through a trial.”
In exchange for Ortega’s guilty plea, “the state agrees not to pursue witness tampering against the defendant or any family members of the defendant,” according to the order.
Sheppard said Ortega was never indicted on witness tampering charges but allegations arose that she was attempting to manipulate witnesses from inside the county jail. Bond was set at $150,000 and she has been in jail since her arrest in April.
“We contemplated looking into it if we couldn’t resolve this case,” said Ray Hardy, assistant DA.
After her release, she must register as a sex offender in any city or county where she resides, according to court documents.
The terms of the plea bargain also stated that “upon Ortega’s release on parole and until the sentence in this case ceases to operate, the defendant shall not come within 500 yards of the victim’s residence, school or place of employment.”
She also is prohibited from “direct contacts, either directly or indirectly by or through any means, with the child victim. This means in person or by or through any third person, and includes but is not limited to contact in writing, by telephone, via text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail or any other electronic means.”
Had the plea agreement not been reached, Ortega could have faced from five to 99 years in prison, with a fine up to $10,000 for the first degree felonies.
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« baybay wrote on Thursday, Nov 26 at 12:04 AM »
this is crazy the child was probabley a mature teenage boy and now this child has to spend ten years of her life in jail surly there is more to this story