A Little Girl Writes Santa

FOX News (12-15-08) reports:

PHARR, Texas — A Texas man has been arrested after a 9-year-old girl wrote to Santa Claus asking that a relative stop touching her and her sister.

The Monitor of McAllen [here] reports that a man from the town of Pharr was arrested Friday and is in the Hidalgo County jail.

A criminal complaint says the girl turned the letter in at Cesar Chavez Elementary School. Authorities interviewed the girl after a school counselor reported the letter.

The complaint says investigators believe the molestation occurred over a period of four years.
The man is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child and could face as many as 99 years in prison if convicted.

The McAllen, Texas Monitor (12-15-08) reports:

Pharr police investigators believe Andres Enrique Cantu molested the girl throughout a four-year period, according to the complaint.

The Monitor is not disclosing Cantu's relationship to the victim to protect her identity.

The years of sexual abuse allegedly occurred girl's own bedroom while family members slept.

...The charge against Cantu is a new one, created by the Texas legislature last year. It is part of a series of changes to the penal code called Jessica's Law, designed to heighten punishments of sexual predators.