COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Instead of going to prison in a criminal case that concluded earlier this year, Hector Gonzalez was allowed to walk away on probation.
KOAA also uncovered police arrested him in a previous case for assaulting more young girls a decade ago, but the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Colorado declined to prosecute that case.
"I was in awe with the plea deal," Valerie Montoya said.
Montoya is outraged at a 2019 plea deal offered to Gonzalez, a man who sexually assaulted her granddaughter who was just 4 years old at the time.
"Why should this man get to ride off in to the sunset like he did nothing?" she asked.
Montoya cared for her granddaughter in her mother's absence, but she couldn't always be there.
Long work hours forced Montoya to rely on help from neighbors.
Gonzalez and his wife, Susan, lived across the street and frequently volunteered to watch her granddaughter.
"If there were days I might be late from work, I would call Hector or Susan or text them and be like, 'I'm running late can you grab the kids?' '' she said.
Montoya says Gonzalez and his wife were always willing to help out.
As time went on, Gonzalez was babysitting Montoya's granddaughter overnight and on weekends, all while his wife was reportedly away.
Red flags started popping up in Montoya's head after Gonzalez came over one day for a pool party.
"Hector grabbed my granddaughter's hand and said, 'C'mon you're going to stay with me today,' " Montoya told KOAA. "My granddaughter had turned around and looked at me and had tears in her eyes,. That plays in my head over and over because I didn't know if the tears in her eyes were because she was leaving grandma's house, or was it because she was going to go over there and something bad was going to happen?"
The 4-year-old eventually broke her silence to her family and was taken to a hospital for a sexual assault kit test.
Arrest papers obtained by KOAA document months of molestation.
According to investigators, the abuse began in September 2017 and continued through July 2018 — just a couple of weeks before Gonzalez was arrested.
Looking back, Montoya says she missed several red flags. She says Gonzalez would frequently buy her granddaughter clothes and gifts.
"I have an immense amount of guilt," Montoya said. "I think that I should have caught this and the red flags you talk about, I didn't see anything at that time and afterwards, I think of knowing she's across the street with him and I'm in my own house."
Gonzalez faced a total of five felony sexual assault charges and one misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact charge.
Instead of going to trial, the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office offered Gonzalez a plea deal.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one felony sexual assault charge and the misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact charge in exchange for all other charges being dropped.
He accepted the deal and received a four-year probation sentence.
"People go to jail for far less than what this man did," Montoya said.
Now, two more sexual assault survivors are coming forward, claiming they too were molested by Gonzalez a decade ago. Both say the district attorney's office did nothing.
Mikayla Windley says Gonzalez molested her over a period of five years.
She says it started when she was just 5 years old.
She eventually had the courage and strength to report it when she was 9.
"He (Gonzalez) said, 'Do not tell anybody or I'll kill you and your family,' " she said.
Windley says Gonzalez would babysit her while her parents were out of town. Although she's a grown adult now, she's emotionally scarred for life.
"I'm paranoid about everything," she said. "Ever since all this has happened, I'm scared of him finding me, killing me, molesting me again. It's just changed who I am completely."
Kassondra Madson is another sexual assault survivor.
She says Gonzalez began molesting her when she was 4 years old.
"After that, it carried on until I was maybe 7 years old and then it was actual rape," Madson said. "He took away my self-confidence and he took away my childhood, really."
Madson and Windley said they both talked with police.
Back in 2009, Gonzalez was arrested on four counts of sexual assault on a child.
In 2011, the case was officially dismissed and closed at the request of the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Court documents show the case was dropped in part because "more investigation was required," presumably to gather additional evidence.
So what happened?
District Attorney Dan May's spokesperson, Lee Richards, has avoided KOAA's questions.
"Mr. May is unavailable as he will be in trial for the next month or so," Richards said in an email to all KOAA staff Tuesday.
While May is likely now busy with the prosecution of Patrick Frazee, KOAA did reach out to Richards last week, in advance of jury selection in the Frazee case, which began Monday.
KOAA asked Richards whether there is a date in December after the trial that we could tentatively plan on to ask May questions about both cases.
As of late Wednesday evening, Richards has not responded.
Madson and Windley have to live every day with memories of what happened more than a decade ago. They hope one day, justice will be served.
"I don't want to be portrayed as a victim. I am a survivor," Madson said.
As for Montoya, she sold her house and moved to a different part of El Paso County.
"We lived in our home for 15 years," Montoya said. "We had no intentions of ever moving, but at the end of the day, you can only re-arrange your living room so many ways. You still have to go out that front door and that house (Gonzalez's house across the street) has become that house."
After pleading guilty to sexually assaulting Montoya's granddaughter, Gonzalez sold his house and moved to New York.
According to court records, he'll remain on probation until 2023.
Madson and Windley hope by sharing their stories, more people will come forward and report sexual abuse.
If you're not comfortable reporting an assault to law enforcement, you can use the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline.
