Global Courant 2023-04-29 01:15:28
An Austin man who pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and chasing a woman down the street until she broke her leg trying to fight back will avoid jail time under a plea deal signed with Travis’ office, according to court documents County District Attorney Jose Garza.
Antonio Cordero-Rios, 35, pleaded guilty in exchange for 10 years of probation and 200 hours of community service, court records show.
One victim’s Apple Watch even captured evidence of the ordeal.
Meanwhile, last month he had his GPS monitor removed in connection with a separate pending case in which he allegedly exposed himself to a woman and her nine-year-old son in July 2021.
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Antonio Cordero-Rios in a gym selfie posted to Facebook in 2019, years before he reportedly began exposing himself to women in public. (Antonio Cordero-Rios/Facebook)
In that case, Cordero-Rios is charged with twice circling a mother and her son in a white SUV as they walked through a residential block. Moments later, the mother told police she had seen him sitting on a fire hydrant.
“Hello,” they said, as the mother and child walked down the sidewalk on their bicycles, according to court documents. When she came within five feet of him, she later told police, she realized he was masturbating in public.
She ordered her son to run home and fetch his father. And as she fled after him, she turned and took a picture. She shared that photo on the Nextdoor app, according to court documents, and also with the Austin Police Department, who circulated the image as part of a “be on the lookout” warning.
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WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
One of the victims took a photo of the suspect in July 2021 after he allegedly exposed himself in front of her and her 9-year-old son, according to court documents. (Austin Police Department via New York Post)
Cordero-Rios’ attorney Jose Vela told Fox News Digital that his client has not violated any of the terms of his provisional release since his initial arrest more than a year ago and that his client still has several felony charges. working on.
Because he has not violated the terms of his release and because he will be strictly monitored during his probation, the judge agreed to remove the GPS monitor in his pending case, he said.
“It’s hard to get questions about this case. As a former prosecutor, I realize that everyone in that courtroom has a job to do and no one has an easy job,” he said. “The prosecutors have a job, the judge has a job and the defense attorney has a job. Unless everyone does their job properly, the system won’t work.”
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Antonio Cordero-Rios has several charges pending after a plea deal for indecency exposure and aggravated assault saved him jail time. (Austin Police Department)
But the Cordero-Rios victims showed up in protest of the deal.
“I don’t remember the whole attack, the fragments I do remember were purely malicious,” victim Lynn Isaak told him in a victim impact statement. “I also remember you doing everything you could to survive. I remember you, like a coward, covering your identity with a mask. I remember you waiting, absorbed in by pretending you were training . You hid behind an identity you knew would gain trust.”
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Isaak was out running in June 2021, when Cordero-Rios chased and attacked her on a Texas street. She told the New York Post he was “caressing himself” as he approached.
She tried to fight back and ended up with a shattered leg that cost her two years of recovery, she said.
But even though she couldn’t remember parts of the attack, she realized it
her Apple Watch had recorded some evidence. An app designed to track her running route showed a zigzag pattern in the area of the attack spanning seven heartbreaking minutes as she fended off her attacker until a Good Samaritan ran over and chased him away.
Antonio Cordero-Rios was also charged with indecent exposure in Williamson County, where this police photo is registered in connection with a December 2021 case. Those charges were dismissed. (Williamson County)
She couldn’t walk for months, she said, but she replaced her love of running with a determination to track down whoever attacked her. Her search led her to the Nextdoor app, where women had discussed similar issues. A voyeur staring over a fence at a girl; the July incident involving the mother and her son; stories of women who said they had been stalked while walking their dogs.
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According to the Austin-based nonprofit organization Respond Against Violence, which assists victims, she is one of eight women assaulted by Cordero-Rios who banded together and helped police arrest him. They got in touch through the Nextdoor app.
The victims banded together, gathered information that helped identify and track Cordero-Rios, and shared it with Austin police, who eventually found their suspect.
“This is such an incredible story, in my opinion, as women in our community come together and use social media in a positive way,” said Kelsey McKay, the attorney who founded Respond Against Violence. told FOX 7 Austin.
Separately, she told Fox News Digital that while the victims are disappointed with the plea deal, “the detectives on the case have been amazing” throughout the investigation, including when they got a partial confession.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza poses in front of the Austin skyline in a portrait from the county website. Garza has drawn criticism for allegations that he aggressively prosecutes police officers accused of wrongdoing while making it easy for career criminals. (Travis County DA website)
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Meanwhile, Garza’s office last week touted his “victim-centered policies.”
“Victims are treated with dignity and respect, which makes our community a safer place,” his office tweeted on the occasion of Austin’s declaration of sexual assault prevention month.
The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital investigation.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports