GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas — A Harris County district court judge is facing charges in Galveston County stemming from an incident that happened on New Year's Eve, according to court documents.
Frank Aguilar was charged with assault of a family member causing bodily injury early Sunday morning. He's accused of punching a woman in her face several times and stepping 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. Court records show that he bailed out but he wasn't at work on Tuesday. Another judge said Aguilar would have a "Harris County criminal associate judge" oversee his docket for the week, although, according to officials, he doesn't have to have anyone else take over the cases.
According to records, Aguilar oversaw some high-profile cases in Harris County. Links to those stories are below.