Valerio sentenced to 35 years

GONZALES — Florencio Valerio, the man convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, was sentenced to 35 years in prison during district court proceedings Wednesday.

Valerio, 32, of Nixon, was indicted on Aug. 5, 2015 on charges of continuous sexual assault of a child. He was found guilty on Wednesday and sentenced to 35 years in prison by District Judge F. Lee Duggan, Jr. the same day.

Assistant County Prosecutor Keri Miller said the testimony established that Valerio had sexually abused an intellectually disabled child, from the age of nine until she outcried about the abuse at age 10.

“An investigation revealed the child had several indicators of continual sexual abuse and had injuries consistent with the sexual abuse that she had described. Valerio admitted to police that he had sexually abused the child, but minimized the abuse,” Miller said.

On Monday, the jury returned a verdict of guilty for the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a young child. A punishment hearing began after the verdict where the State presented evidence that the defendant had physically abused another child and of the long lasting effects the sexual abuse would have on the child victim. The State asked for life imprisonment at the conclusion of the hearing. Judge Duggan sentenced the defendant to 35 years imprisonment.

“The jury sent a very clear message that child sexual abuse will not be tolerated in Gonzales County,” Miller said. “The child victim showed incredible courage and bravery by getting on the stand in front of her abuser and testifying about the horrific abuse she suffered.”