San Antonio, Texas, April 7, 2016: For the first time in Bexar County, a repeat sex offender was committed to continued supervision upon his release from prison. On March 10, 2016 a Bexar County jury unanimously found Reyes Mares to be a sexually violent predator as defined by the Texas Health and Safety Code. As a result of the jury’s verdict, State Judge Melisa Skinner ordered Mares civilly committed for further supervision and treatment. This was the first trial in Bexar County related to the civil commitment of a sexually violent predator. Prior to September 2015, all trials related to civil commitment were held in the 435th Judicial District Court of Montgomery County, Texas. The Texas Legislature changed the law in 2015 to vest jurisdiction over the trial in the county where the offender was originally convicted.
Mares, the respondent in the case, had previously been convicted of Robbery and Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in 1993 and convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in 1999. He had been sentenced to 10 years, 25 years, and 7 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice respectively. At the time of the trial, Mares had a projected prison release date of January 20, 2018; however, psychiatric experts believed Mares suffered from a behavioral abnormality that made him likely to engage in further acts of predatory sexual violence. With the jury’s finding, Mares will be required to undergo further psychiatric treatment and submit to GPS tracking, and if necessary to reside in supervised housing.
The case was prosecuted by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in conjunction with attorneys assigned to the Special Prosecution Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.