Tyler man accused of sexually assaulting child

TYLER – Forensic DNA led to the arrest of a Tyler man on Monday for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old in July, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

On July 1, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a 10-year-old girl who had been sexually assaulted by Felix Ponce at a home in Tyler. Once deputies met with the victim and mother, the child was soon transported to a local hospital for examination. At the hospital, deputies spoke with the mother of the victim, who explained that while at work, she looked at surveillance footage from inside the residence, but could not locate Ponce or the victim. Another child at the house said the victim was “locked in the bedroom” with Ponce. Arrest documents revealed that the victim said that while in the room, Ponce had sexually assaulted her.

The next day, investigators collected evidence inside the house and DNA from both the victim and Ponce to send to the DPS crime lab in Garland for testing. After this, they also interviewed Ponce at the sheriff’s office, where he “denied inappropriately touching [the victim].”

On Sept. 3, investigators received the DNA profile results of the assault from the crime lab, which shows the likelihood that the suspect was Ponce: “The probability of obtaining this mixture profile if the DNA came from the victim and [Ponce] is six times greater than the probability of obtaining a profile if the DNA came from the victim and one unrelated, unknown individual.”

Ponce was then arrested on Monday for aggravated sexual assault of a child and is currently being held at the Smith County Jail on a $500,000 bond.