A Prison Term for Sex Offender

GILMER — A man, who had been living in Kilgore, has entered a plea of guilty to the aggravated sexual assault of his girlfriend’s daughter in 2014. In state district court in Gilmer on Monday, Gilberto Hernandez Garcia, 33, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by State District Judge Lauren Parish. Hernandez, who is in this country illegally, must serve at least one half of the sentence and would be required to register as a sex offender. Upon parole, he faces deportation.

The girl’s grades began to decline at school and her mother noticed she started acting angry towards Garcia. In January of last year, she asked her daughter what was wrong. The girl broke down and told her about the abuse. The child said she was threatened not tell her family or she would be killed. The mother immediately notified the sheriff’s department.