HOUSTON – A woman who we are purposely choosing not to identify said her family has been living out a nightmare since several days ago.
“This happened when my baby was in our house, in her room, and he covered her mouth and told her to shut up,” the woman explained. “It feels like I’m dying inside. And I look at my husband and I can see him dying inside because we couldn’t stop it.”
The woman said 28-year-old Pedro António Hernandez Guzman forced her 12-year-old daughter inside their home and sexually assaulted her.
“She’s acting like she’s not in her body. She doesn’t know how to feel about what happened. She’s confused,” the mother said.
Prosecutors said Guzman met the girl by approaching her near a school bus stop, then preyed on her through social media. After the attack, authorities said he came back again, but this time he was met with a surprise.
“My understanding is that the defendant was still communicating with our victim and actually returned to the home while the parents were there. There was a physical altercation that ensued, but the father was able to detain him until law enforcement arrived,” said Lara Hogue, a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office child abuse division.
Neighbors said they have seen Guzman several times before stalking kids as they walked to and from the school bus stop.
“I’m driving from my daughter, and I see him looking like, ‘Oh my god, who’s this? Ohh, that’s a girl,’” one neighbor said.
Officials fear there may be more victims and are asking them to come forward. Meanwhile, the shaken mom of the alleged 12-year-old victim is looking forward to getting justice for her daughter.
“She’s strong, and she told us what happened, which was a good thing because if not, this man would’ve probably continued coming to assault my child,” the mother said.
We’re told Guzman, who had been deported back to his home of El Salvador several times, was in this country illegally. He’s now charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, which could get him between five years and life in prison. His next court date is set for March, but in the meantime, anyone who believed they were victimized by Guzman is asked to call the police.