North Texas Man Sentenced to 75 Years for Raping 12-Year-Old Girl

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A North Texas man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl in a field after she ran away from home.

Prosecutors in Fort Worth on Thursday announced the penalty for 36-year-old Miguel Angel Munoz of Arlington. Jurors convicted Munoz of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the March 2011 attack.

Authorities say the girl argued with a relative and ran away from her Grand Prairie residence, then changed her mind and called a friend to take her home. The girl was walking across the field to meet her friend when Munoz grabbed her. A homeless man heard the assault and summoned help as the attacker fled.

Investigators in 2012 linked Munoz to the assault using DNA evidence he submitted in a burglary conviction.