Texas man injects 13-year-old girl with heroin, then sexually assaults her, cops say

A Texas man is accused of injecting a 13-year-old girl with heroin before sexually assaulting her, police say.

The child’s mother told investigators that she and her daughter moved into the 42-year-old man’s house in San Antonio when they had nowhere to stay, according to court documents.

After they found a residence, the mother noticed her daughter coming home intoxicated, police said. The child had bloodshot eyes, lost weight, behaved secretively and lacked concern for her family, according to court documents.

She confronted her daughter and learned the teen was hanging out at the home of the man, who persuaded her to try heroin several times, police said.

“It’s a cool thing to do,” the girl recalled the man saying, according to court documents.

She said the man sexually assaulted her while she was under the influence of the drug and “felt powerless to do anything,” according to court documents. The girl also believes she may have been sold for sex but couldn’t remember due to being heavily drugged, police said.

The child told investigators that the man now referred to her as his “girlfriend,” police said.

She went to a children’s hospital to undergo a sexual assault examination, and investigators found six puncture marks on her arm and foot, police said.

On Thursday, Juan Antonio Mendez was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was in Bexar County jail on $75,000 bond.

This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Texas man injects 13-year-old girl with heroin, then sexually assaults her, cops say."