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Jose Ortega, Convicted Rapist, Is Innocent, Victim Says 22 Years Later

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 05/08/2012 1:15 pm Updated: 05/08/2012 2:58 pm

Victim
An unidentified victim, shown here at Jose Ortega's sentencing on Monday, says Ortega is innocent.

A rape victim in Texas admitted this week that the man who spent five years in jail for assaulting her is innocent.

In an exclusive interview with KRIS-TV, an unidentified woman said that her story of getting raped when she was 11 years old is true. The crime just wasn't committed by Jose Ortega, she said.

Ortega was convicted of the 1990 rape along with his brother, Daniel, who was given ten years of probation.

The victim, however, says Daniel Ortega is responsible, not Jose.

"I can recall details of that incident and it's something that's stuck with me all these years. There's nothing in my mind that tells me Jose is a predator," she told the station.

But the woman's testimony won't have any affect on Jose Ortega's current case. The woman's revelation was made shortly before a hearing Monday on charges that Ortega failed to register as a sex offender in Corpus Christi.

Judge Tom Greenwell agreed with prosecutors that the victim's new story is irrelevant to that hearing, so she was not allowed to testify.

Ortega was sentenced to ten years in prison Monday for the failure to register charge.

In 1990, the victim told a school counselor about several incidents with the Ortegas. In an affidavit, she alleged, "Joe took off all my clothes. He took off just his pants and underwear. He touched me all over and kissed me."

The station reports that she remembers mentioning Daniel in that conversation, but not Jose.

"He was just another person in the neighborhood. I knew who he was but we never had anything to do with each other," she said.

Jose Ortega plans to appeal the judge's decision on Monday not to allow the victim to testify.

Last month, Cassandra Kennedy admitted that her father didn't rape her when she was 11 years old in 2001. She said she made up the story because she was upset about her parents' divorce.

FOLLOW CRIME

A rape victim in Texas admitted this week that the man who spent five years in jail for assaulting her is innocent. In an exclusive interview with KRIS-TV, an unidentified woman said that her story...
A rape victim in Texas admitted this week that the man who spent five years in jail for assaulting her is innocent. In an exclusive interview with KRIS-TV, an unidentified woman said that her story...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ocenbrz
Atheist by choice.
02:35 PM on 12/20/2012
She should have to pay some kind of restitution to this man. I hate it when children lie about this kind of crime. I know it happens but it just makes it harder to prosecute those who are are guilty. I only support the death penalty in cases that have hard evidence against the perpetrators. And repeat offenders.

Good that she finally admitted the truth if it is the truth or she is lying to protect this guy for some reason. Sorry the prosecutes didn't pick up on this during the trial. Nice of the other brother to see his younger brother get off with the crime. One would have to review the whole trial to see what really happened to screw up this case.
10:27 AM on 05/11/2012
Nice. Ten years for having been bent over and raped by the system.
05:44 PM on 05/09/2012
I find it wildly ironic that many of you who are complaining about the "miscarriage of justice" or the "flaws" in the system might serve on juries like the one that convicted this man and use the same faulty logic you display in these posts. How do you know this man is "innocent" just because, 22 years later, the victim says he is? There is no doubt that many people are unjustly accused and convicted of sexual abuse based only on the words of a young child, but please keep in mind that this "victim" is relying on her memory 22 YEARS after the fact. Just because she now says it didn't happen doesn't mean it didn't, any more than her original allegation is proof that it did. If juries rely on as little evidence as you people do to reach conclusions, then it's no wonder there are so many wrongful verdicts. Make sure you know the real facts before opening your pie holes!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
IfIonlyknew
Go ahead....Say something funny.
02:50 PM on 05/09/2012
Texas.....He is lucky they didn't kill him.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Renee Johnson
12:58 PM on 05/09/2012
can we say too little too late..the man has already spent 5 yrs in prison and now on his way back for 10 more years for not registering for something he never was..sad for Jose now he really will be a criminal...
12:53 PM on 05/09/2012
How old was Jose and his brother at the time.?
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
01:21 PM on 05/09/2012
Good question.
04:08 AM on 05/10/2012
I know, where they under 18 or over 18.

If, there were under 18, I don't see how Jose is required to 290-SR requirement.

Interesting story.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
The Dude67
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
10:43 AM on 05/09/2012
That's our legal system at work folks.  We don't really care if he is a rapist or not.  If the victim says he is innocent that is irrelevant.  The Courts High Priests have spoken and by Jingo, you will obey!!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DINGCHIROPTERA
09:14 AM on 05/09/2012
Ok, so both men are horrid, one a rapist one a fondler, but, you cannot lie about who did the raping no matter how angry you are. At least she had enough courage to come forward . But, both of these men are horrid people.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Renee Johnson
01:01 PM on 05/09/2012
unidentified woman said that her story of getting raped when she was 11 years old is true. The crime just wasn't committed by Jose Ortega, she said.

his brother yes, obviously Jose not from her statement
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
01:23 PM on 05/09/2012
At this point I'm not sure I actually know who did, didn't or maybe raped the, at the time, 11 year old girl!
Too many details are missing from the story.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DINGCHIROPTERA
09:12 AM on 05/09/2012
anyone who files a false rape report makes it harder for the REAL victims. If you file a false report you should do jail time. This woman is what we all need to stay away from, every false report takes away police focus on the real rapes. Shame on this woman!
12:50 PM on 05/09/2012
she was 11 years old not a woman and she probably got the brothers names confused...not saying it is ok for the court to do what they are doing to this man just stating the fact that she was only 11 and traumatized
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Jenni Downey Fleming
07:38 AM on 05/09/2012
She needs to do some jail time for lying and making an innocent man go to prison..
09:05 AM on 05/09/2012
Did you READ the article? This 'woman' was an '11 year old child' when this happened. The article stated she only recalls mentioning Daniel to a school counselor all those years ago, never Jose. Whomever was responsible for this investigation should have jail time - they are the one that screwed up. Not to mention, the authorities handled things much differently 10 years ago - DNA and other technology has come a long ways since then. I do feel bad for this guy....
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
EdCorey1971
07:21 AM on 05/09/2012
"Judge Tom Greenwell agreed with prosecutors that the victim's new story is irrelevant to that hearing, so she was not allowed to testify."

So, this man went to prison for a crime that he never committed and he is being wrongly punished again for not registering as a F_ing sex offender! Situations like this is proof positive that society don't give a F about men. This story should be National News and a topic of National discussion. How many times do we need to read a story about some innocent guy being freed after 15-20 years behind bars?

There are those simple minded people out there that say society don't take rape seriously. Well I beg to differ. We lock innocent guys up for rape even when they didn't do it and no one comes to their defense. We still coddle the lying snake that ruined these guys lives and we dismiss their crimes because it was "only" a man who suffered. As if any man suffering is recompense for rape in general. I can honestly say I hate people that think like this. If such a thing happened to me it would not be good for those that wrongly accused me when I got out.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ocenbrz
Atheist by choice.
02:49 PM on 12/20/2012
It is not just men who get wrongly accused. The majority of people who rape don't get punished at all. I agree that I hate people who lie about something so serious to get someone innocent into trouble.

This girl screwed up or it could have been the prosecution. It could also ahve been a case of an older brother covering up for his younger brother's crimes? We would have to review the entire case to know where the mistakes were made.

It really seems like the whole original trial needs to be re-tried since the victim is now saying the wrong man was prosecuted for the crime. I do agree that this man deserves to have a new trial and his conviction overturned if it proves that he is innocent. And the guilty brother needs to go to jail. What family life they must have had, these two brothers but I have seen family members who lie against each other out of jealousy or fear of being punished. All Cain and Able type of stuff.
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justsome
new york state of mind
06:12 AM on 05/09/2012
why didn't the idiot say something during the trial. it's stupid women like these, that make it bad for other women, and innocent men.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
EdCorey1971
07:29 AM on 05/09/2012
I disagree that they are making it bad for other women. It's slight of hand. It has become a catch phrase to say that this hurts other women and a excuse not to hold false accusers accountable for their crimes. As long as their is not a significant punishment, (that is enforced), against women and girls for purposely lying there are people that will continue to abuse the system as they see fit. In fact the only ones being hurt are the innocent guys that spend a large part of their lives behind bars.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ocenbrz
Atheist by choice.
03:01 PM on 12/20/2012
I agree with you here. I do believe these judges go too easy on the women/others who falsely accuse others of rape or incest out of spite or revenge. I know it happens. It should carry at least a ten year sentence.

These crazy people who lie for the dumbest of reasons while true victims still live in fear that even if they do go to court they are not guaranteed a conviction and know they have to go through a brutal defense team's usual tactics to try to confuse the victims and make their situation even worse. It is no lie that these defense lawyers will do whatever they think will upset the victim in defense of their guilty clients. It is why so many victims feel or become traumatized by the whole legal system during a trial. The whole process is humiliating, degrading, just emotionally draining due to the nature of these kind of crimes.

Because I know how these defense lawyers twist around the facts of a case during trial, I have to say the girl could have gotten the two brother's confused if she did not know them well. But the innocent brother did not turn on his younger brother to save himself? A lot about this case is open to too much speculation unfortunately.
09:07 AM on 05/09/2012
You need to re-read. This 'woman' was an '11 year old child' when this happened. This has nothing to do with making other women looking bad. It's the law enforcement that failed to do their jobs appropriately here.....
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justsome
new york state of mind
10:02 AM on 05/09/2012
cassandra kennedy who was 11 admitted that her father didn't rape her. Angry about parents getting divorce..that's who is 11. Not the lady from Texas. Re-read.
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justsome
new york state of mind
10:05 AM on 05/09/2012
yes your right to a point. the lady was 11 when she was raped. but she waited 5 years later to say that Jose Ortega didn't do it. Why wait 5 years??
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05:22 AM on 05/09/2012
There is so much shady crap and nonsense that goes on during investigations and trials. I for one have no faith in our system. How could anyone after reading this(poorly written granted) ? Then once the system has you it is another whole cult of takers to be heard. it's true, whoever has the big money for the big Lawyers wins. Im not just talking violent crime either. Medical Malpractice just might be the very worst in my opinion. But the Hospitals and drs are represented by Huge firms that swallow you up financially before you have a chance to see a court room. I know I wont see a change in my lifetime, but if you kids can put down your "electronic toys" and actualy form national teams with local chapters something like this can and will be changed. Sorry about the zing on 'lazy youth". My generation (born in early 1960's) had it's own form of lazy too. I dont have the detailed answers to fixing it, but they are out there. Smarter people than myself with a career financial death wish are needed probably. Like I said in my 2nd line, I have no faith.
04:24 AM on 05/09/2012
The legal system in this country is rampant with immorality. Various governmental instituitions should be tried under the RICO (racketeering influenced corrupt organizations) statues that have been used against the Mafia. Taxes should stop being allocated to these corrupt institutions that do nothing but compromise life, liberty, and property. Let the police, judges, prosecutors, prison wardens, and politicians all go unpaid, just like the volunteer firemen do (and whose job is infinitely more important). Let us see how tough they want to be on crime after that.
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Ossit
Ossit
03:38 AM on 05/09/2012
You can yell and scream all you want about what fact was there or not. But one thing you don't do is make her the villain because she didn't lie. She wasn't listened to, and you people want to read what you want. She was raped no matter how you slice it. The only difference is Jose didn't do it, his brother did. But he IS guilty of taking off this woman's clothes of and feeling her off when she was 11.

Let's not use this guy's ethnicity against him as another excuse, and let's cut the crap of posting mysogynistic comments from the men here just because you just don't like women and girls.
05:39 AM on 05/09/2012
The victim is NOW saying the affidavit is wrong, that she barely knew Jose Ortega and
had nothing to do with him on any basis. It was his brother, Daniel, who raped her. Jose
didn't do anything at all to her or with her. Please read more carefully who said what to whom.
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Ossit
Ossit
11:59 AM on 05/09/2012
That's what I said! You're the perfect example, Sookey, of people who read what they want. I kept saying Jose is ONLY guilty of feeling her up as a child. I SAID in my other posts you didn't bother to read, that the Police are mistaking that for rape and NOT looking into his brother, whom she said DID rape her, but the Police wouldn't listen. AGAIN that Jose did NOT rape her but Daniel did. I SAID in my other posts, which you didn't bother to read, that if Police KEPT her rape kit, they could reconfirm what she's saying now that she said a long time ago that wasn't listened to. Police refuse to do it. Stuck on one thing, the Police refuse to admit they were wrong on everything and refused to listen to her then AS now.
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Ossit
Ossit
12:00 PM on 05/09/2012
I maintain that Jose is NOT guilty of rape and shouldn't be required to register as a rapist. but SHOULD register as a sex offender for feeling her off when she was a girl which the Police misinterpret molestation as rape which is NOT the case. I kept saying the Police should go back to Daniel. But everyone else keeps forgetting about Daniel, and continue to focus on "Well Jose shouldn't be required to register as a sex offender as a rapist, but NO ONE but me pointed out that feeling this woman off as an 11 year-old IS called molestation and he should register as a sex offender FOR THAT ONLY!

Stop reading half of what you want, Sookey and criticize me. I'm tired of you and others always reading half or little of what I say so you can build nonsense points.
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Ossit
Ossit
12:10 PM on 05/09/2012
I will say again and again, that rape is forced penetration. Penetration people. Rape is NOT when someone takes off your clothes and feels you up but does NOT penetrate, as the woman had said in her statement as a child Jose DID do. I will say again and again that IF there was a rape kit done, Daniel's DNA should've been on file, but again, DNA testing in it's infancy even in 1990. Police didn't want to examine Daniel further because they were lazy and thus Danial was given 10 years of probation because again, and I don't know how many times I have to say this before people actually bother to read what I say, not what they want to make up, Police misinterpreted Jose who took off this woman's close off and felt her up as a child AS rape. It was molestation only! It's the same garbage when it comes to the term of even rape. People choose to sanitize it by calling it sexual assault. Rape is forced penetration, NOT feeling you up.