On December 7, 2023, the Honorable Judge Russell Wilson sentenced Zachary Rey Sambrano to 20 years in prison for the offense of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
In the summer of 2021, the 12 year old victim was spending a few weeks with the defendant prior to going back home to start the new school year. The night of the sexual assault, the defendant came into the bedroom where the victim was sleeping and took off her shorts and his shorts and got on top of her and proceeded to sexually assault her. Once the defendant left the room, the victim immediately outcried to another adult who was in the home asleep. The police were called, as well as the child’s mother, who immediately drove several hours to pick up the victim. The defendant was questioned by police, where he admitted to the sexual assault.
Although this defendant deserved many more years in prison, this sentence was reached by discussing this with the victim and her family and taking into account how traumatic testifying in court would be for her. We ensured justice was served and we made every effort not to revictimize her.
We would like to thank the hard work of the Dilley Police Department and our partners at the Children’s Alliance of South Texas. We would also like to thank our First Assistant District Attorney, Leslie Carranza for her continued dedication to the youngest and most vulnerable of our victims.