Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Secures Life Sen­tence Against Child Preda­tor in Bexar County

Attorney General Paxton's office secured a life sentence against a child predator who was found guilty of abusing children in Bexar County. A jury found Joe Suarez Jr., 71, guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child and Indecency with a Child after listening to four days of testimony and deliberating for four hours. Following a sentencing hearing, the court ordered a sentence of life without parole and two consecutive 20-year sentences, the maximum punishment allowed by law.

"My office worked tirelessly to put this child predator behind bars for life and secure justice for the victims of these heinous crimes," said Attorney General Paxton. "We are committed to standing up for victims of sexual assault and will use every tool available to us to ensure that child predators are prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows."

In March 2016, an 8-year-old child made an outcry of sexual abuse to a teacher at her school. Following her outcry, two additional victims came forward to report that they had also been subjected to chronic abuse by the same offender, Joe Suarez Jr. Their reports of abuse were referred to the San Antonio Police Department ("SAPD") by the Department of Family and Protective Services ("DFPS"). SAPD conducted an investigation and referred the case to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, where it remained for several years awaiting grand jury presentation. After District Attorney Joe Gonzalez was elected and recused his office from the prosecution, the case was referred to another district attorney's office in Texas before being transferred to the Office of the Attorney General in late 2023.

Given the years that had passed since the initial investigation, Sgt. Andres Alaniz with the Office of the Attorney General conducted a thorough reinvestigation of the case. In 2025, at the conclusion of the OAG's investigation and in conjunction with SAPD's prior work, the defendant's charges were presented to a Bexar County grand jury. Suarez was subsequently indicted for Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Children and lesser-included counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and Indecency with a Child.

The evidence showed that the defendant, who played in a local mariachi group, would offer mariachi lessons to children in the community to gain their trust. The defendant took advantage of the trust his family and community placed in him and sexually abused multiple children in his home. He also worked as a truck driver and would sexually abuse children in the cab of his 18-wheeler.

At trial, the jury heard testimony from a child abuse pediatrician, a sexual assault nurse, a detective from the San Antonio Police Department, an OAG investigator, a forensic interviewer, a child abuse expert, and family members of the victims. Most powerfully, ten years after their initial outcries, the three victims had the opportunity to face their abuser and, through their testimony, reveal what the defendant believed they would never disclose. They courageously testified before a room full of strangers about their first sexual experiences at the hands of this predator. At the conclusion of the testimony, the jury's message to the defendant was clear through its guilty verdict: sexual abuse of children will not be tolerated. Judge Escalona's consideration of the facts and testimony presented at trial was further reflected in the life sentence imposed on the defendant. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Ahrum Kim and Deanna Franzen.