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Jefferson County seal
Criminal District Attorney Bob Wortham announced Jan. 5 that 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West sentenced William Rivera, 58, of Beaumont, to four consecutive life sentences in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for four cases involving sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Rivera pled guilty on November 17, 2021, without a plea agreement and elected for Judge West to decide his punishment in all four cases. Rivera faced 25 to 99 years or life in prison without the possibility of parole for two charges of Continuous Sexual Abuse. Due to prior convictions, he also faced an enhanced punishment range of 25 to 99 years or life in prison for two charges of Indecency with a Child.
On October 30, 2019, the Beaumont Police Department initiated an investigation into Rivera after an outcry of sexual abuse by a 14-year-old child. The child told officers Rivera had been abusing her and her sister for several years. The victims were interviewed at Garth House, Mickey Mehaffy Children’s Advocacy Program, Inc. and received sexual assault forensic exams at CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital.
Both victims detailed years of sexual abuse by Rivera beginning when they were 9 and 11 years old. Rivera sexually abused both victims and paid them money according to a price list he created. Rivera was arrested in Brownsville, Texas, in May 2021, and later brought to the Jefferson County Jail. In handwritten letters from jail, Rivera confessed to the sexual abuse of both victims but showed no remorse for his actions and placed blame on everyone but himself.
The case was prosecuted by Special Crimes Chief Kimberly Hobbs Duchamp and investigated by Detective Staci Landor with the Beaumont Police Department. Duchamp said,
“From the moment he began abusing them up until his sentencing today, Rivera never showed any compassion for his victims. In return, the justice system showed him the same lack of compassion. Rivera’s sentence ensures he will spend the rest of his life in prison and will never be able to hurt another child.”
The District Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the bravery of both victims in coming forward. Thank you for trusting in us to see that justice was done.