Former BCSO deputy called 'sexual predator with a badge' during trial

Detention officer on trial for raping inmate

SAN ANTONIO – During closing arguments in the trial of Erick Montez, 36, a former Bexar County Jail detention officer accused of sexually assaulting an inmate, prosecutors implored the jury to “stand up for this woman and give her justice.”

The inmate who was at the jail on November 27, 2015, testified that Montez forced her to have sex with him as he transported her in a Sheriff’s Office van from one jail facility to another.

“He chose someone he thought no one would believe,” prosecutor Josh Somers told the jury during closing arguments in Montez's trial on charges of sexual assault and improper sexual activity with someone custody. “He didn’t pick off the college girl with the DWI. He chose someone a little fragile, a little delicate, with a drug case.”

Somers called Montez “a sexual predator with a badge.”

Montez’s lawyer John Young argued that the state’s case lacked forensic evidence and he questioned the victim’s credibility, suggesting that she was “making it up as she goes along.”

The jury is still deliberating on a verdict for this trial. They were dismissed for the day and will reconvene Thursday morning.

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About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.