An April 2019 date has been scheduled for jury selection in the trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting a boy in a restroom of the Texarkana Public Library.
Javier Perez, 26, pleaded not guilty in September to a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child for allegedly assaulting an 11-year-old boy in June. Perez appeared Monday morning for a hearing before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell with Bowie County Public Defender Clayton Haas.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael Shepherd and Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter asked Tidwell to set the case for trial. Tidwell scheduled the case for jury selection the week of April 8 at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston, Texas.
Library employees became concerned June 26 when they noticed a homeless man take an 11-year-old boy with him to the men’s bathroom two times. A male employee entered the bathroom and shouted after seeing two sets of feet in a locked stall with their pants pulled down.
Texarkana, Texas, police officers who responded to a call from library personnel learned determined the homeless man to be Perez, of Terrell, Texas. The boy had already left the library with a parent before library staff or police could speak with him.
Police contacted the boy’s father who returned to the library at their request. The boy allegedly disclosed that Perez sat down at his table and showed him pictures of a naked woman removing her clothes before leading him to the bathroom.
The boy said he said, “No,” when Perez asked him to pull his pants down. The boy said Perez pulled both of their pants down and touched the boy inappropriately before sexually assaulting him in the stall.
Perez is currently being held in the Bowie County jail. Bail is set at $100,000. Perez faces five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
