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Rosenberg man sentenced to total 80 years for child sexual abuse Staff Reports After pleading guilty in November, a Rosenberg man was sentenced in early March to a total 80 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child and prohibited sexual conduct, according to a news release from the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office. Carlos Portillo-Molina, 45, pleaded guilty to the charges on November 15. In a sentencing hearing on March 6, 434th District Court Judge Christian Becerra sentenced him to 60 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child and 20 years for prohibited sexual conduct with an ancestor/ descendant. Prosecutors presented evidence at the hearing showing that Portillo-Molina began sexually abusing two children starting when they were 7 – 8 years old. In March 2024, one child, now an adult, reported the sexual abuse, leading to the second child reporting her sexual abuse and disclosing that the Portillo-Molina was still sexually abusing her. Upon being confronted by the family of the children, Portillo-Molina went to the Rosenberg Police Department, where Detective Paul Martin interviewed him. PortilloMolina confessed in detail to his past and current sexual abuse of the children. After hearing testimony from Martin, the defendant, and one of the children, now a young adult, the Court sentenced Portillo-Molina. Lead prosecutor Jazmine Smith commended Martin for his effective interview skills that led to the detailed admissions from PortilloMolina about his crimes. Smith also praised the survivors of Portillo-Molina’s abuse for their courage in reporting the sexual abuse. “Hopefully these strong, young survivors can now move forward with the security of knowing the defendant can never harm them again,” she said in the release. “This is a just outcome attributable to courage of the survivors, the dedication of law enforcement, and the passion for justice by my prosecutors,” said District Attorney Brian Middleton. “I couldn’t be prouder of the teamwork to make our community safer by holding this abuser accountable for his vile crimes.” Smith prosecuted the
SEE ROSENBERG PAGE 4
Carlos Portillo-Molina, 45, was sentenced in March to a total 80 years in prison for child sexual assault and prohibited sexual contact. Courtesy Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office
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First measles case reported in Fort Bend County Staff Reports Fort Bend County Health & Human Services on Sunday confirmed the first reported measles cast this year. Measles was detected in an adult female, age 50-60, in the county, and the case is associated with recent international travel, not the recent outbreak in West Texas, the office said in a news release. Health officials are actively investigating the case and conducting contact tracing to identify possible exposures and
limit further spread of the disease, the office said. “We want to reassure residents that our public health team is actively conducting case investigations and notifying potential contacts,” Dr. Gale-Lowe, Director and Local Health Authority of Fort Bend County Health & Human Services, said in the release. “The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is through vaccination. The MMR vaccine is safe,
Fort Bend County Health & Human Services has confirmed the first reported measles cast this year. Image via CDC.gov
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CANDIDATES FOR SUGAR LAND MAYOR SPAR AT CHAMBER FORUM
Most of the candidates for Sugar Land mayor appear at a candidate forum held at the Sugar Creek Country Club last week. L-R: Michelle Mikeska, Naushad Kermally, William Ferguson, Alex J. Sowell, and Carol K. McCutcheon. Sarwar Khan was absent. Photo by Ken Fountain
By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
With the imminent departure of term-limited Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman, a large audience filled a ballroom at the Sugar Creek Country Club last week to hear from most of the candidates vying to succeed him in the May 3 general election. The opening in the mayoral seat,
held by Zimmerman since 2016, has scrambled the city’s political scene immensely, as three of his colleagues on City Council – At Large Position 1 Councilman William Ferguson, District 2 Councilman Naushad Kermally, and Position 4 Councilwoman Carol McCutcheon – have thrown their hats in the ring, leaving their seats open. Also on the ballot for the mayor’s
seat are educator and community activist Michelle Mikeska, restaurateur Alex J. Sowell, and automobile sales executive Sarwar Khan, all first-time political candidates. Last week’s forum, hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, was moderated by Christopher Breaux, chair of the chamber’s governmental relations division. Breaux announced at the outset of the forum
that Khan could not participate because of illness. The tone of the forum was uniformly civil, with few areas of daylight between the candidates on the questions posed by Breaux, although they sometimes offered slight variations on the issues raised, most of which dealt
SEE ELECTION PAGE 4
Sheriff’s Office investigation finds one deputy violated policy, another did not Staff Reports An investigation by the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office’s Internal Affairs Division found that one deputy violated departmental policy while another acted within policy guidelines in a January incident involving a reported armed robbery, the office said in a press release on Monday. According to the release, on January 22, Deputies Jonathan Lopez and Mason Koehler were dispatched to the intersection of Ginger Run Way and West Airport Boulevard n response to a reported armed robbery. The caller told dispatchers that the suspects fled the scene on foot on West Airport, but disconnected the line without providing further details. On January 26, according the release, Deshonda Penn and Marie Hanks filed a formal complaint regarding an interaction that followed the above-referenced call, involving
Penn’s son and Hanks’s nephew, who had been stopped by the deputies. The subsequent investigation by Internal Affairs found that upon arriving at the scene, Lopez observed two individuals running east on West Airport. “Based on reasonable suspicion, he attempted to stop them for questioning, but they did not comply. Deputy Lopez did not pursue them and continued to the location where the victim was last reported to be,” according to the release. “Deputy Lopez then relayed his observations to Deputy Koehler, stating that he believed the two males were involved in the robbery. However, Lopez’s communication lacked the necessary precise language required by FBCSO policy,” the release states. “Deputy Koehler then based his actions on the information given to him by Deputy Lopez and detained both individuals for further investigation. They were released shortly after the robbery victim provided a photo
confirming the actual suspects,” the release states. “The investigation determined that Deputy Lopez failed to use sound judgment in his communication, violating General Order #02-01, Core of Standards of Conduct, IV. Details and Procedure, 23, Sound Judgment. As a result, Lopez received discipline and all of patrol will receive re-training on investigatory stops,” the release
states. It does not specify the discipline Lopez received. “Regarding Deputy Koehler’s actions, the investigation concluded that he acted within FBCSO policy. Based on the information received, Koehler had reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop. While Koehler did not explain the reason for the detainment immediately, he explained it to them as soon as was feasible which is in line with what policy states,” according to the release. “The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparency, accountability, and adherence to professional standards in serving the community,” Sheriff Eric Fagan said in the release. “When concerns are raised, we take them seriously and conduct thorough investigations to ensure our deputies are upholding the highest standards. Our priority is to build and maintain trust with the residents we serve, while continuing to provide fair and effective law enforcement.”