North Texas man who fled to Mexico returns and is convicted of child sex abuse
A Tarrant County jury sentenced a man Wednesday to 65 years in prison on child sexual assault charges that date back to 25 years ago, District Attorney Phil Sorrells said.
A relative of 44-year-old Santiago Arteaga made an outcry in 2007 that Arteaga had sexually abused her multiple times in 2000, when she was between the ages of 5 and 6 years old, Sorrells said in a statement on social media.
Arlington police investigated and the suspect was indicted. But before the case was resolved, Arteaga fled to Mexico. He returned to Texas after he thought the case had been dismissed, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
During a routine traffic stop in Tarrant County in 2022, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested Arteaga on an outstanding warrant related to the case.
The victim was 31 years old at the time of her testimony at the trial.
Arteaga was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child, according to court records.
