Former Galveston County deputy accused of asking teen girl for sex

Ruben Ornelas (Texas City Police Dept.)

GALVESTON, Texas – A former Galveston County deputy is accused of asking a 14-year-old girl for sex and sending her sexually explicit text messages, according to court documents.

The wife of 34-year-old Ruben Orneals told police that when her husband accused her of cheating on him, she checked the couple’s cellphone account, according to the documents. She said that she noticed dozens of text messages to a number that belongs to a girl who she knows is underage.

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According to the documents, she told the girl’s parents about the exchanges. The girl’s parents checked her phone and noticed the text messages, which contained sexually explicit language and pictures of Orneals’ genitals.

Detectives also talked to Orneals’ mother-in-law who said she received a call from him, according to the documents. During the call, according to the documents, Orneals told her that he needed to tell her something before she heard it a different way. He admitted to her that he had been sending inappropriate texts to the girl, but did not know how old she was.

According to the documents, the girl told investigators that Orneals twice forced her to perform sexual acts on him.

Orneals was arrested at a home in Dickinson. He was charged with online solicitation of a minor and indecency with a child.