He Got an 11-Year-Old Pregnant and Now Faces 38 Years in a Texas Prison

A man who was once on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrant List has recently been sentenced to nearly four decades in prison after he was found guilty for sexually assaulting a child.

Wanted for Impregnating an 11-Year-Old

In July 2024, border agents stopped a woman attempting to cross the Texas-Mexico border. The mother of 22-year-old Jose Miguel Zelaya-Ponce was in the process of transporting one of her other sons and a pregnant 11-year-old girl as passengers.

The woman was arrested and charged with human smuggling of a minor under the age of 18. Additionally, a warrant for Zelaya-Ponce's arrest was issued out of Harris County where he was hiding after it was discovered that the 11-year-old girl was pregnant with his child.

Zelaya-Ponce's Capture and Sentencing

Zelaya-Ponce was finally captured one month later after he was added to Texas' 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age.

It was later discovered that the 11-year-old victim had been living with Zelaya-Ponce in Houston and had sustained continual sexual abuse.

Zelaya-Ponce was sentenced to 38 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a result.

Texas' Most Wanted Lists

You can always keep up with the latest wanted fugitives in the Lone Star State with one of several Texas 10 Most Wanted Lists. Here you can view individuals with active warrants where the state is offering cash rewards for information on their capture.