Former Fort Bliss soldier gets more than 8 years for sex abuse of minor
Jan 24, 2025
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- A former soldier stationed at Fort Bliss was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to more than eight years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas announced Friday, Jan. 24.
According to court documents, Carlos Humberto Richard Walsh, 23, of Washington state, was involved in a romantic relationship with a minor under 16 years old from approximately Oct. 1, 2022, to approximately Jan. 24, 2023.
Walsh, who was an Army specialist at the time, had to go through to barracks inspections, and his command reported finding the minor victim in Walsh’s vehicle, along with several of the victim’s personal items in Walsh’s barracks room, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The minor victim admitted to federal and local law enforcement that she had been living with Walsh in the barracks and they had had sex there several times, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Walsh was arrested on May 25, 2023, and has remained in federal custody.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the El Paso Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Valenzuela prosecuted the case.