SAN ANTONIO — A Selma man convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl will spend the rest of his life behind bars after receiving a 119-year prison sentence last week.
Albert Zuniga, 66, had been found guilty on Wednesday and was sentenced the next day, according to the Comal County District Attorney's Office. He had been indicted in August 2022 for the assaults that officials said unfolded between March and September of 2015, on multiple occasions.
The victim testified Zuniga was at her family's property frequently, adding that he would give her alcohol that made her black out while she was being assaulted. Comal County officials added that law enforcement built their case through more than 200 pages of phone records "which showing phone calls and test messages that went on for months and were usually late at night."
The phone records, the district attorney's office said, proved "essential" in prosecuting Zuniga. When he took the stand in his own defense, he told the jury he was a retired police officer of 26 years in Selma.
"He attempted to blame it on the victim," the district attorney's office release said. "It is clear by the jury's verdict and sentence that they did not buy his version of events." Officials said Zuniga also admitted to inconsistencies between his testimony and prior interviews with police.
Zuniga will also have to pay a maximum $10,000 fine for his crimes.