Judge reprimands prosecutor for not disclosing defendant's prior sexual abuse of minors

Family and acquaintances, including a former Fort Worth police lieutenant, submitted letters to the court vouching for McDaniel’s character. There were other issues, however, presented to the judge. While McDaniel was being held in federal lockup awaiting sentencing, he had corresponded with his victim, despite being ordered not to contact her, the court record shows. Still, Hunt argued that a sentence of five years was overly harsh. Villafafia disagreed, but conceded that McDaniel would benefit from psychological treatment. She advocated for a sentence of five to sex years, which was at the low end of the guideline. It was then that the judge heard from the victim’s mother. In a statement, the mother decried the emotional and mental trauma her daughter suffered and the long road to recovery she had ahead of her. The mother mentioned she was further upset that McDaniel continued contact with her daughter after his arrest and she said she believed that McDaniel was still trying to manipulate her daughter by blaming her for his arrest. The mother pointed out that prior to their sexual encounter, McDaniel had directed her daughter to watch sexually explicit movies and had described for her sex activities he had had with another underage girl. At that point, the judge interrupted. “_.. [here has been some reference to another incident with a minor girl. What do you know about that, if anything?” Zloch asked Villafana. <acosta.jpg> Former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta never told sexual-abuse victims of a lenient plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein. Getty Images Only then did Zloch learn that McDaniel had preyed on other girls over the internet, including a 16-year-old California girl whom he brought to Texas and impregnated. He was also having another relationship with a 15-year-old girl at the time of his arrest, Villafafa admitted in court. The judge promptly sentenced McDaniel to 10 years — twice what Villafana recommended. Three months later, in January 2007, after reviewing the entire case, Zloch issued an order excoriating Villafaiia for failing to tell him about McDaniel’s prior history. “The serial nature of defendant’s seduction of minor girls was revealed for the first time to the court upon the Government’s response to the Court’s inquiry,” Zloch HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021754