HPD officer charged with two counts of indecency with child

A Houston police sergeant was charged this week with two felony counts of indecency with a child.

Sgt. Mario Garza, 47, was relieved of duty Thursday, an HPD spokeswoman said. Garza joined the police department in 2007, according to a statement from his attorneys, Mike Schneider and Thuy Le.

He had spent about three years working in internal affairs before being transferred to the department’s General Services Division in March, Le said. He had also previously worked patrol for eight years and spent a year working in HPD’s now shuttered municipal jail.

In a written statement, Le criticized the department’s case against Garza and said HPD had filed charges without interviewing relevant witnesses.

“When the evidence in this case is revealed, we are confident the truth will emerge, and it will show that Mario Garza neither broke the law nor harmed a child,” she said Saturday. “In the meantime, we are looking forward to continuing and sharing our ongoing investigation of the facts, and of the actions of the Houston Police Department.”

Garza turned himself in Thursday. In Garza’s initial court appearance, a prosecutor asked for a $75,000 bail on each count. A local magistrate denied that request, setting bail at $20,000 for each count, saying he didn’t believe Garza was a flight risk because the officer had voluntarily turned himself in. He also ordered Garza not to have any contact with the person who had made an outcry against him.

Chief Art Acevedo said the department’s investigation highlights the seriousness with which the department handles abuse allegations.

“It’s heartbreaking to think anyone would harm a child, but we are relieved by the courage of the victim to come forward,” he said, urging victims of abuse “of any kind” to contact police.