true crime

Boy borrows his neighbour's laptop only to discover he'd 'sexually abused his 10-year-old sister'.

Content warning: this post deals with sexual assault. 

A man in his sixties is facing a slew of child pornography charges and is accused of sexually abusing two children after he was found with photos of his 10-year-old neighbour on his laptop.

Joe Garza Jr., 65, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, lent his computer to the little girl’s brother, who discovered the explicit images and immediately alerted his parents, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The boy had been trying to fix his hard-drive and asked to borrow Garza’s computer, according to local policeman Officer Domingo Martinez.

The boy had been trying to fix his hard-drive and asked to borrow Garza's computer. Source: iStock
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“When he hooked it up, he saw a folder on there,” he told the newspaper. “Curious, he looked at it, and that’s when he saw pictures of his sister."

After giving the computer back, he told his mum and dad who then invited Garza to their home to confront him, where they spoke for more than two hours.

“I don’t know if he openly admitted it but he said he has a problem and asked her not to call the police and that he would disappear and not come back," Martinez said.

Police were contacted soon after and Garza was arrested on March 3 for possessing child pornography and is now accused of repeatedly molesting the girl and — years earlier — her older sister, who was around 10 or 11 at the time.

A forensic investigation of his computer reportedly uncovered photos and videos of both the children and a wooden, swing-like contraption seen in some of the videos was found in his home.

Police fear there may be additional victims and have appealed to the public for more information.

As of Tuesday, Garza was in Tarrant County Jail with bail set at $190,000.

If this post brings up any issues for you, or your dealing with the trauma of assault, contact the Centre Against Sexual Assault here, or on 1800 806 292.