HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — UPDATE 7/3/24: Charges against a Harris County judge have been dismissed, according to court documents.
Judge Frank Aguilar had been charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member, but in a motion filed on Wednesday, the Galveston District Attorney's Office said that while probable cause exists, there wasn't enough evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, so the case was dismissed.
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Below is original reporting from February 2024.
Prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney's Office have asked district court Judge Frank Aguilar to recuse himself in cases involving seven different defendants, according to the DA's Office. This comes after Aguilar was charged with assault of a family member causing bodily injury stemming from an incident on New Year's Eve, court documents say.
The DA's Office said the cases requested all involve family violence. Aguilar reportedly refused to recuse himself in those cases, sending the issue to administrative Judge Susan Brown. It's unclear when Judge Brown will decide on Aguilar's recusal.
We have reached out to Aguilar's lawyer for comment but have not heard back as of when this story was posted.
RELATED: Harris County district court judge accused of punching, stepping on woman's neck on New Year's Eve
What happened
Court documents allege Aguilar punched a woman several times in the face and stepped on her neck and chest, choking her with his foot.
It happened at his Galveston home around 1:30 a.m. According to court documents, Aguilar threw a party and was drinking alcohol with the victim as well as some people who rented a downstairs room. The victim got into an argument with another woman at the party, and Aguilar got upset, according to court documents. She reportedly told investigators that he started cussing her out and followed her upstairs, where the assault happened.
Law enforcement radio traffic revealed that the victim called the police and reported that Aguilar had assaulted her.
When officers arrived, they found the victim, who they said appeared to be intoxicated and in a "state of distress," according to court documents. Police said she had blood coming from her nose and red marks on her neck. They also discovered a welt on the back of her head.
When Aguilar was interviewed at the scene, he briefly spoke about what he said happened before he stopped and said he didn't want to talk about it and said he didn't know how the victim was injured, according to court documents.
Aguilar was arrested and taken to the Galveston County Jail. His bond was set at $1,500, which he reportedly met.