El Paso Man Sentenced to 198 Years for Sexual Abuse of Two Young Girls
An El Paso man, Juan Montellano, was sentenced to nearly 200 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two young girls. Montellano, who was found guilty on November 14, 2024, by an El Paso jury, was sentenced to 99 years on each of two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years old. He was also sentenced to 20 years on four related counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact, with each charge carrying a fine of $10,000.
Judge Marcos Lizarraga of the 168th District Court ordered the sentences to run consecutively, bringing the total sentence to 198 years. The sentences for the indecency charges will be served concurrently with one of the continuous sexual abuse charges.
Montellano was accused of repeatedly sexually abusing the victims, who were 5 and 6 years old at the time, from 2015 to 2020. Testimony from the victims, along with expert testimony about how children process and report abuse, played a pivotal role in the trial. District Attorney Bill Hicks emphasized that cases like Montellano’s show the commitment of the judicial system to bring justice to victims of child abuse.
“This is the largest sentence we’ve secured in the past two years,” said Hicks. “If you victimize children in this community, you will spend the rest of your life in prison.”