El Paso jury sentences man to prison for sexually assaulting child
An El Paso jury convicted Kevin Jerome Woods, 47, on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child on Wednesday, May 20, and sentenced him the next day to 33 years in prison on each count, El Paso District Attorney James Montoya announced in a news release. The sentences will be served concurrently, court records show.
Woods is "not eligible for parole and will have to serve the entirety of his sentence day-for-day," Montoya said in the news release. Woods is also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
“This case began when the victim was still a young child, and it has taken years to reach this conclusion," Montoya said in a statement. “No victim should have to wait that long for accountability. Our office continues to work to move long-pending cases forward, and we deeply appreciate the jury’s careful attention to the evidence and their service in bringing this case to a just resolution.”
El Paso Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit investigators began investigating Woods after the victim reported to the victim's mother in 2022 that the victim had been sexually abused by Woods years earlier when the victim was younger than six years old, the news release states.
The victim participated in a forensic interview, where the victim reported a single incident and described the assault in detail, the news release states.
Cowell sentenced maximum for child sex abuse
Hagadone News Network | May 23, 2026 1:00 AM
SANDPOINT — A Boundary County woman guilty of sexually abusing two minors has received an underlying life sentence for the crimes.
Katherine Cowell, 52, was given a life sentence, with 20 years fixed, for being found guilty by trial of two charges of lewd conduct with a minor under 16.
The penalties will run concurrently, and she will remain in prison for 20 years before becoming eligible for parole.
First District Judge Susie Jensen handed down the sentence from the bench after hearing statements from Cowell, Prosecutor Louis Marshall, and public defender Catherine Enright.
Victim impact statements were not read during the hearing, as Marshall told the court that the victims felt their testimony had been heard on multiple occasions, including both Cowell’s case against her and the case against her husband, Richard Cowell, who resides at Bonner County Jail on similar charges.
He pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and lewd conduct with a minor, receiving a fixed sentence of 17 years and five years indeterminate.
Marshall said that it would be easy to recommend Katherine serve a 22-year sentence like her husband, but shared that there were key differences in their cases — Richard spared the victims from having to testify at a jury trial, whereas she had not.
“He at least, in a sense, showed some accountability,” Marshall said.
He recommended the 20-to-life sentence after telling the court that he believed Katherine to be the main perpetrator of the cases between herself and Richard, noting that her actions were a “heinous crime and warrant a life sentence.”
Enright shared a vastly different stance when recommending a sentence for her client.
She noted that Cowell maintained her innocence and will file an appeal to her guilty verdict. Enright recommended a period of probation for Cowell, arguing that she was not a risk to the community and that she had, and continues, to lead a law-abiding life.
Enright also asked that if the court isn't open to probation, Cowell would receive the same sentence as her husband, asking the court “not to punish her for taking the case to trial.”
When given a chance to speak, Cowell sniffled through her statement, noting her disappointment with the justice system, specifically for “failing innocent people.”
“My heart is broken ... I am not a danger to [—], my community or society. You already know, I do not admit to these allegations, and I maintain that they are categorical lies,” Cowell said. “I have a good heart, and I care for people, and I try to help them. I have even been helping women I have met at jail, and I have learned so much about the justice system and hope to use this experience to advocate for others.”
In front of approximately 20 people, Jensen gave Cowell a sentence worse than her husband’s, following Marshall’s life sentence recommendation, with 20 years fixed.
The difference between Katherine and Richard, said Jensen, lay in the foundation that Katherine had been found guilty of committing lewd crimes on two victims, compared to Richard’s one.
“The allegations and the convictions against him, at least physically, are for one child. You have been convicted of abusing two, and I don’t think the same sentence is appropriate,” Jensen said.
Jensen further pointed to Cowell’s actions as a “profound violation” of the individuals she harmed, and that she “failed to protect them in every way possible.”
“The trauma of what you did and the damage that you caused will remain with them for their entire lives, because you did not contemplate that your criminal conduct would cause or threaten harm. No sane person would think that your actions would not cause harm. There is no way that you knew or thought that your actions would do anything other than cause this grievous harm, not just physically, which I'm sure there was, but mentally, spiritually, emotionally. This was a profound violation.”
She further noted Cowell’s lack of accountability and that her amenability to treatment would likely be ineffective because she refuses to acknowledge the crimes.
In sharing the sentence, Jensen recommends that, while treatment may not help her acknowledge the sexual abuse she committed, it may help her move forward from the abuse she endured as a child. These actions were disclosed in a pre-sentencing investigation sheet.
“While you certainly have stated that you're amenable to treatment, and I do think treatment for other issues, for your own personal trauma, would be appropriate and would be beneficial, specific sex offender treatment again requires some admission of wrongdoing, some acknowledgement of your behavior, and that is simply not here,” Jensen said.
Before recessing the court, Jensen, in line with Marshall’s prior comments during his sentencing recommendation, acknowledged the victims in the case, hoping it would give them some closure.
“I would act on Mr. Marshall's sentiments that coming forward and testifying, not just once, but multiple times over and over again. That's on top of forensic interviews, that's on top of police interviews, that's in front of strangers and family members and friends, and bearing (sic) your soul in what can only be incredibly traumatic experiences, takes a very strong person. I would acknowledge the strength that took, the courage that took, and hope that their victims in this case can move on from here,” Jensen said.
The case has drawn public attention since Katherine Cowell and her husband, Richard, were arrested in February 2025 in Boundary County after allegations that the pair had committed acts of sexual abuse.
Police arrested the couple Feb. 5, 2025, at their Naples home, which doubled as an unlicensed child daycare.
Court documents indicate the abuse occurred between 2012 and 2015, several years before the daycare opened its doors. However, the daycare permanently closed its doors six days after the pair’s arrest.
At a joint preliminary hearing, the alleged victims testified that they were coerced into sexual relations with the couple as minors. At Richard’s sentencing, both victims also provided statements, noting his lack of accountability for the actions he pleaded guilty to.
Guatemalan man pleads guilty to recording sexual abuse of sleeping child in CT
A undocumented Guatemalan man has pleaded guilty to recording to his sexual assault of a sleeping girl in Connecticut, officials said.
Mario Rene Garcia Martinez, also known as “Mario Rene Martinez Garcia,” 41, took a plea deal on Friday in federal court in New Haven, pleading guilty to production of child pornography and possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Federal officials said Martinez sexually assaulted a prepubescent girl on two occasions in February 2024 and used a smartphone to record images and videos of the abuse. The girl was sleeping during the assaults, officials said.
The charges Martinez pleaded guilty to carry a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 50 years. He has been in custody since March 2025. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Never use male babysitters; it's just wrong.
West Babylon Man Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse
A 29-year-old West Babylon man was found guilty after a jury trial of repeatedly sexually abusing a family friend when she was between the ages of nine and twelve.
The evidence at trial established that during the COVID-19 shutdown, the defendant, a close friend of the family whom the child viewed as an “uncle” figure, began conducting Zoom calls with the then nine-year-old victim. While the calls initially centered on innocuous topics — games, superheroes and television — the defendant eventually began sharing his screen to show her pornographic images and videos while inappropriately touching himself.
(The defendant is not being named to protect the identity of the victim.)
Then, beginning in March 2022, the victim’s mother regularly brought the victim to the defendant’s home so he could babysit her while the mother worked. On those occasions, the defendant sexually abused the victim. In April 2023, the victim, then twelve years old, learned through school presentations and the Internet that the defendant’s conduct was wrong. She confronted him directly, telling him she did not want him to touch her anymore, and the abuse stopped.
Several months later, in February 2024, the victim began experiencing anxiety and panic attacks from the weight of keeping the abuse a secret. She disclosed the abuse to her mother, prompting the investigation that led to the defendant’s arrest and prosecution.
On May 22, 2026, the defendant was convicted of Course of Sexual Abuse Against a Child in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor, after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei.
“As a close family friend, this defendant exploited the trust of a child and the trust of the child’s mother to satisfy his predatory sexual perversion,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “This conviction is a testament to the courage of this young survivor, who found her own voice and put a stop to the abuse. My office will always stand up for children who cannot protect themselves, and we will pursue every available measure to ensure justice is served.”
The defendant is due back in court for sentencing on June 24, 2026, and faces up to 25 years in prison
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