Man arrested in connection with child sexual assault

After about a week on the run, Jesus Rocha-Alvarez, 33, was arrested by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office in connection to the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

On Nov. 4 at approximately 5:10 p.m., the Hays County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a sexual assault of a child at an address in Buda. Deputies arrived and received information that a 14-year-old child was sexually assaulted by a male subject living at the residence where she was residing. The suspect, Rocha-Alvarez, was not at the residence when deputies arrived. The Criminal Investigation Division investigated the incident and a warrant for Sexual Assault of a Child was issued by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith.

The Hays County Sheriff’s Office’s Repeat Offender Unit tracked Rocha-Alvarez to an apartment complex located in the 300 block of East Slaughter Lane in Austin and arrested the man Sunday morning at about 5:45 a.m.

“The manhunt was made more difficult after deputies learned Rocha-Alvarez had received aid and support in his efforts to evade his arrest,” the Sheriff's Office said in a press release. “On Thursday evening, deputies tracked down the suspect’s black BMW to a residential address in the 1100 block of Haleys Way in Buda. Deputies discovered the homeowner, Michael Joseph Villarreal, 43, gave Rocha-Alvarez a place to stay and transportation to Austin the previous night. Further investigation revealed Rocha-Alvarez’s father, Jesus Fernandez-Alvarez, 58, of Buda, had been organizing his son’s flight from justice.”

The aid Rocha-Alvarez received from the two men caused the arrest of both Michael Joseph Villarreal, and Jesus Fernandez-Alvarez. Villarreal was arrested on a single count of Interference with Public Duties and was subsequently released on a $5000 bond while Fernandez-Alvarez was arrested Sunday evening on a single count of Hindering Apprehension, a felony, officials say. 

Rocha-Alvarez is awaiting bond in the Hays County Jail.