Katy child sex trafficking update: Suspect identified as girl's softball coach
The Brief
Sources confirm that a man charged with child sex trafficking was a softball coach while under investigation.
Pedro Gonzalez is charged with child sex trafficking and is accused of having sex with one of the victims.
The grandparent of a former player on his team spoke anonymously to share the story.
KATY, Texas - Multiple sources confirm that Pedro Gonzalez, charged with child sex trafficking in Harris County, was a girl's softball coach while under investigation.
The backstory
In December 2024, FOX 26 broke the initial report of Pedro Gonzalez and Brandon Andrews being arrested and charged, accused of trafficking two teenage girls out of a Katy Motel 6.
The next month, new information came out about Gonzalez's immigration status and Andrew's criminal past, revealing Andrews was out on bond for a similar charge when he was arrested on the more recent trafficking case.
What they're saying
At the time, FOX 26 received some tips that Gonzalez was possibly affiliated with a Katy softball team, but none of the reports were from credible sources.
In April 2024, a credible source came through. The grandmother of a child who played on Gonzalez's team emailed in wanting to spread the word that he was working with children.
"Someone sent me your video from December, then I watched your update in January, and that's when I reached out to you," the woman told our reporter. She wished to remain anonymous.
"I just feel it's too important for parents to know about this. What if their children were also being coached by Pedro," she said.
FOX 26 confirmed with another parent of a former player and a coach from another Katy softball team that Gonzalez was a coach, managing his own team named the 'Lady Sandlots'.
The coach from the other Katy team tells FOX 26 that the team was privately run by Gonzalez and didn't have any additional oversight.
The Grandmother FOX 26 spoke with says one day Gonzalez simply disappeared and wasn't heard from again.
"The rumors were that he had been picked up because he was not here legally, and then there were rumors that he had been charged with some offenses towards children."
Court documents in the trafficking case do not mention Gonzalez's affiliation with the team and do not say any children involved in the teams were involved in the investigation.
Still, the allegations against someone working so close to children are shocking for any parent.
"I know how much she enjoyed having this man as her coach, and I think she felt very comfortable around him, which is very scary."
Dig deeper
In December, FOX 26 requested Gonzalez's background from the Houston ICE field office. The request came back in January saying that he was in the U.S. illegally when he was accused of committing this offense.
"Pedro Pablo Gonzalez Penalver, a 40-year-old illegally present Venezuelan national, was admitted into the United States on January 23, 2017, at the Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, but failed to depart according to the terms of his admission," the field office said in a statement.
It goes on, "An immigration judge with the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Gonzalez removed from the United States in absentia on August 27, 2019."
What's next
Both Andrews and Gonzalez are still in custody and Gonzalez has a disposition in court scheduled for May 29.
If you or anyone you know may have information concerning this case call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
The Source
This update comes from three anonymous sources close to Gonzalez, the grandparent of a former player, the parent of a former player and a coach of a softball team that interacted with Gonzalez on a regular basis.
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