Man's child sex abuse charges dismissed after more than 20 years in prison

AUSTIN, Texas - The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed charges against a man who has already spent more than 20 years in prison. 

This came after the woman who claimed he sexually abused her as a child said it never happened.

Timeline:

In 2002, Marshall Moreno was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child by contact, and indecency with a child by exposure, after his biological daughter made an outcry to her therapist about being sexually abused.

She was 12 when Moreno went to trial, took the stand and stated Moreno had sexually abused her. In 2003, Moreno was convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison.

During the trial, the Travis County DA's office says a therapist and a medical doctor testified about the outcry she made when she was ten, two years after the alleged offenses. 

The state says there were no forensics and no other eyewitnesses or factual witnesses to provide the trial court with facts to support guilt, except for the child's testimony at trial.

Marshall Moreno

In 2020, the now-adult daughter who made the allegations reached out to the University of Texas’s Actual Innocence Clinic to recant her statements.

In Nov. 2024, Moreno's counsel filed a writ of habeas corpus, alleging he was actually innocent and included an affidavit from her recanting the allegations. 

Court documents state she said she couldn’t live with her guilt about having lied any longer. She said she originally accused Moreno because she felt pressure from her adoptive family and felt she had to outcry in order to please them.

In Dec. 2025, the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit answered Moreno’s counsel’s writ and requested hearings to assess the daughter's credibility.

The daughter testified and recanted her earlier testimony in a post-conviction hearing in July. The DA's office then asked the judge to agree that she was credible and that Moreno was actually innocent.

Both the District Court Judge and Court of Criminal Appeals agreed that the daughter's recant established "actual innocence", said the DA's office.

What they're saying:

"Although dismissing his cases won't undo the 24 years Mr. Moreno spent incarcerated, we hope it helps him as he works toward rebuilding his life," said DA José Garza. "We are thankful for the courage shown by the main witness to come forward. We are grateful that the District Court Judge and the Criminal Court of Appeals agreed that the recantation proved actual innocence in Mr. Moreno’s conviction, which enabled our office to dismiss his cases quickly."

What's next:

Moreno will soon be released.