Jose Jesus Castor aka Joe Bernal pled guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, and 10 years in prison for Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Registration. The defendant was the new boyfriend of the young victim’s mother. Our young victim bravely reached out to the school counselor, who promptly contacted both law enforcement and Child Protective Services. Through the cooperation of multiple state agencies, this defendant will be unable to harm any other children for years to come. This sentence also allowed for the defendant to be punished without having to traumatize our victim by having her testify in a trial. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the hard work of the Pearsall Police Department, the school counselors at Pearsall Intermediate, Child Protective Services, and the Children’s Alliance of South Texas. We would not be able to seek justice on behalf of these brave children without each and every one of these agencies.
