Ortega gets 50 years in child sex assault

May 26—EDITOR'S NOTE — This story contains graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse.

An Odessa man convicted of having a 2-year-old relative perform oral sex on him will spend 50 years in prison.

An Ector County jury took about 90 minutes to determine the sentence of Fabian Andres Ortega, 24. On Wednesday they deliberated an hour before rendering a guilty verdict on the charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

The jury deliberated about an hour before sending out a note saying they were deadlocked 11-1 on punishment and seeking direction from Judge John Shrode of the 358th District Court. He instructed them to continue deliberating and they returned 25 minutes later with their verdict.

According to the state's star witness, Fern Garcia, Ortega sent her a photo of the bottom portion of a young girl's face a few months after Garcia and Ortega had met in Del Rio for a sexual encounter. Garcia testified Ortega told her the photo showed a 1-year-old relative of his with his semen in her mouth. She told jurors she had asked Ortega for the photo because he had been sending messages to her for weeks on Snapchat about acts the young girl had been performing on him. He had told her he wanted to penetrate her, but she was too small to accommodate him, but eventually he planned to share her with other men, Garcia said. She knew authorities would want evidence of his claims so she took photographs of their conversations and the photo knowing they would disappear from the app within 24 hours.

Garcia went to authorities the day after she received the photo and Ortega was indicted a few months later.

The jury rejected the defense's argument that the young girl in the photo wasn't Ortega's relative and there was no definitive proof linking Ortega to the Snapchat account or his phone.

Aggravated sexual assault of a child carries a potential sentence of life in prison or a prison term of 25-99 years. Because the victim in this case was under the age of 6, Ortega is not eligible for parole.

On Thursday morning, Assistant Ector County District Attorneys William Prasher and Melissa Rayne told the jury a life sentence was appropriate considering the sentence he imposed upon his victim, a sentence she'll never escape from. If they thought a lessor sentence was more appropriate, the prosecutors said the jurors should start at 99 years and then find reasons to come down from there.

Prasher urged the jurors to consider the victim's point of view, society's point of view and the defendant's point of view when determining the sentence.

Defense attorney Violet "LaTawn" White argued 25 years was a long enough term, pointing out that is longer than Ortega has been alive.

Life sentences should be reserved for the most egregious, horrible crimes, White said. She urged the jury to consider Ortega's age, family support and lack of a prior criminal history.

She also told each individual juror to hold firm on their personal beliefs.

In her final closing argument, Rayne pounced on one of White's statements.

"She just told you what the sentence should be. Life is reserved for the most aggravated crimes," Rayne said.

Rayne also asked the jurors to consider Ortega's niece and future nephew when rendering their verdict, along with any other young children he might encounter in the future.

She also reminded jurors to think about all of the messages he sent Garcia.

"Think about the plans he had for (the victim) when she got older, when she got bigger," Rayne said.

Following the sentencing, the victim's mother gave a victim impact statement in the presence of the jury. Addressing Ortega, she told him she had led a sheltered life up until her daughter was victimized by him and never believed something like what happened could happen.

She said she has come to realize there is "real evil" in the world, but also knows there are really good people, too. She described the jurors, the prosecutors, law enforcement officers and the rest of the state's witnesses as her daughter's "angels."

She then went on to describe all of the people in her daughter's life who will be there for her no matter what, noting she is blessed because she knows they'll even choose her daughter over her.

"This will be behind us. We will not ever think of this again," the woman said. "Good luck. I'm going to go get my daughter."