A 31-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting to sexually abusing a girl two times in 2020 and 2021.
Patrick Gonzales appeared in court by video conference from the Lubbock County Detention Center, where he has been held since his Jan. 10, 2025, and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
In exchange for his plea, he was handed two 15-year prison sentences which will run concurrently.
He admitted to sexually abusing the girl in 2020 and 2021 when she was 7 and 8 years old, according to court records.
He was initially indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony that carries a punishment
of five years to life in prison. However, he pleaded guilty to lesser-included offenses as part of his plea deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office.
He will also have to register as a sex offender for life.
His charge stems from a Lubbock police investigation that began on Nov. 6, 2024, after police officials received a report alleging Gonzales sexually assaulted a girl.
The girl would later tell a forensic interviewer 10 days later that Gonzales sexually abused her while she was staying with him at a family residence, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A family member corroborated the girl's statement, the affidavit states.
A Lubbock County grand jury on Feb. 11, 2025, indicted Gonzales, who had been held at the jail for about a month after his bond for a 2024 felony DWI charge was revoked.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock man gets 15 years for sexually abusing girl
