A Kyle man was sentenced to 40 years in prison last week for his convictions on two charges of domestic violence and a charge of violating an emergency protective order multiple times, all against the same victim.
Javier Esteban Rivera, 32, was found guilty by a Hays County jury on two counts of assault family violence – repeat offender and one count of violation of a protective order – two or more times in 12 months. After the jury’s verdict was read, the defendant entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution. He agreed to waive his right to appeal and accepted a 40-year sentence rather than allow the jury to set his punishment for the convictions.
Judge Joe Pool of the 428th District Court accepted the plea bargain and pronounced Rivera’s four-decade punishment.
The jury was shown surveillance footage depicting an assault in a parking lot in which Rivera is seen punching the victim in the face and dragging her by her hair. They also heard jail recordings in which Rivera admitted to committing the assault. A 911 call made by the victim’s mother during a second assault was also played, in which jurors could hear the victim screaming in the background during what she testified was Rivera choking her, punching her and kicking her.
At the beginning of the trial, Rivera stipulated to the fact that he had been convicted of assault family violence in the past. As part of the plea bargain, he also pleaded true to allegations that he had been previously sent to prison on at least two separate occasions.
Hays County Assistant District Attorneys Jon English and Cassidy Story prosecuted the case.
“It was far past time that Javier Rivera spent a serious number of years in prison,” English said. “He’s a dangerous, violent predator who did horrible things to his victims. Because of the courage of those victims in coming forward, today, he is locked up where he can’t hurt anyone else. Justice was served in this case.”
“The defendant spent his life trying to control others, but he couldn’t control the jury that finally held him accountable,” Story added.
