EL PASO COUNTY — A child molester who walked away on probation as part of a plea deal in 2019 has been arrested and charged with more crimes involving children.
Hector Gonzalez pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl between 2017 and 2018.
In exchange for his guilty plea in that case, Gonzalez received a 90-day sentence followed by four years on probation.
This plea deal angered the victim's family who believes justice was not served.
While covering that court case, News 5 Investigates heard from more survivors who claim Gonzalez molested them too.
After investigators followed up on new leads and evidence, Gonzalez is now facing a laundry list of new charges.
2019 case:
Valerie Montoya's granddaughter was just four years old at the time she was molested by Gonzalez.
We're told Gonzalez was a neighbor who would often volunteer to watch school children while parents ran errands or were at work.
The 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office offered Gonzalez a plea deal in the case---which he accepted.
"I was dumbfounded and literally blown away," Valerie Montoya, the victim's grandmother said. "Who gets to do this to a child, my granddaughter, and get a four-year deferred felony with the possibility of no jail (prison) time? We didn't know until the day before (court) that the offer (plea deal) was out there."
Now former District Attorney Dan May refused to explain why his office made a plea deal with Gonzalez, despite multiple attempts to hear his side of the story during his time in office.
Court records also reveal a previous case that concluded in 2011 involving Gonzalez. In 2009, Gonzalez was charged with four felony counts of sexual assault of a child. Ultimately, the case wasn't pursued further and was eventually dismissed without a trial.
Following both of these cases, Kassondra Madson decided to speak up in an interview with News 5 Investigates.
She alleges Gonzalez molested her from a very early age.
"I think it started when I was 4, maybe 5," she told News 5 in a 2019 interview. "Hector Gonzalez molested me. The first time it was just molestation. He touched me and after that, it carried on until I was about 7 and it was actual rape."
Mikayla Windley is another sexual assault survivor who claims Gonzalez molested her.
"We would stay the night at his house while our parents were at work or when we wanted to spend time with our cousins which were his kids," she said.
Now, new court records reveal Gonzalez may have targeted more young children years before Mikayla, Kassondra and Valerie's granddaughter came forward.
Gonzalez is facing 23 new charges---all related to child sex crimes. Some of the alleged crimes date back 17 years to 2004.
Since the alleged victims are minors, the affidavit detailing further information about the reported crimes remains sealed.
However, information related to the case will likely come out during a trial.
You can view the active court case here.
These new charges bring new hope that justice will eventually be served.
"He ruined my childhood," Madson said. "I don't think a person like that could ever be sorry for what they did. I feel Hector Gonzalez should be put in prison where he deserves to be."
Records show Gonzalez is out on bond. He's due back in court July 21.
Reporter's note: While this new case is making its way through the justice system, KOAA News 5 will only be providing updates through information gathered from court hearings and documents so that this case is not jeopardized. The interviews in this story were all gathered prior to these new felony charges being filed.
Have a story idea or problem you'd like our News 5 Investigates team to look into? Email us: News5Investigates@KOAA.com.
