A woman who a prosecutor said held a child down while her husband sexually assaulted the girl — an act the couple captured on video —
pleaded guilty in a Travis County courtroom Friday and was
sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Mariana Garcia’s sentence for two counts of aggravated sexual assault was part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Charges are pending against Garcia’s husband, Adrian Navarro, 30.
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Outside court, Garcia’s lawyer, Bradley Urrutia, said that
Garcia was emotionally abused by her husband and acted under his control. He said that the plea agreement does not call for her cooperation in his trial but that since she has pleaded in the case she would be required to testify if called.
Outside court, Frederick said that
a distinctive tattoo allowed investigators to affirmatively identify Garcia as the one “helping her husband with the sexual act.” Frederick said
another child was shown in the video looking on.
The girl who was shown on the video being assaulted appeared to be under the age of 2, a police affidavit said.
An affidavit said that a detective went to Garcia’s apartment along Interstate 35 in South Austin on Jan. 22 during a search for stolen property. The detective found a computer hard drive and photos determined to be child pornography.
Navarro told police that he got the pornography from a relative and had been meaning to throw it away, the affidavit said.
On one hard drive, detectives found more than 500 photographs and more than 15 videos of child pornography, the affidavit said.
One of the videos showed the couple assaulting the child, the affidavit said.
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