AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County District Attorney José Garza says that Texas law is preventing his office from moving forward on a case of reported sexual assault following a fraternity party near the University of Texas at Austin more than four years ago.
In a statement on Tuesday, Garza said that his office believes the victims in this case were sexually assaulted. He said the office is grateful for their courage as they have been "unwavering in their demand that systems change to prevent sexual assault and to ensure accountability when it happens."
But while he said his office expects to continue to stay in touch with these victims and to "continue to take seriously any threats that result from them coming forward," Texas law prevents the case moving forward in the legal system.
"The law in Texas does not reflect our current understanding of sexual assault and creates a burden that is very difficult to meet. As a result, we are unable to move forward at this time," Garza said. "Working on this case has highlighted for our office the very real problems that the Texas Sex Assault Statute creates when trying to bring justice to victims. We are committed to working to change that."
Garza did not elaborate on how the state law prevents his office from moving forward with this case.
Background on this case
In May 2022, Benjamin Berkowitz and Andres Aiza were arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection with an August 2020 incident that was reported near the UT Austin campus.
Affidavits stated that Berkowitz and Aiza offered to walk two women home from a fraternity party on Aug. 27, 2020. One of the victims told police that Berkowitz was aggressive on the walk home, trying to grab and touch her. When she told him to stop and that she had a boyfriend, Berkowitz allegedly replied, "F--- your boyfriend," and continued to grab at the victim and try to kiss her.
Berkowitz, Aiza and the two women went into the victim's apartment, according to the affidavits. The victim said Berkowitz assaulted her before she was able to free herself and run into another room screaming.
The victim told police that Berkowitz then followed her into the bedroom before assaulting her again, telling her that he and Aiza had discussed their plan beforehand. The victim said she was then sexually assaulted by Aiza. The affidavit said Aiza had trapped and assaulted the other woman before she was "passed off" to Berkowitz.
Berkowitz allegedly brought one of the victims into the bathroom and locked the door before continuing to sexually assault her. One of the victims was ultimately able to free herself from the locked room and run to another room screaming, according to the affidavit. Other roommates heard her screaming and called 911.
Both women underwent SAFE kit testing, which police said showed sperm samples that were a "very strong" match with Aiza's and Berkowitz's DNA. The men were also captured on the apartment building's surveillance cameras, according to police.
Both men were booked into the Travis County Jail on May 16, 2022. Court records show Aiza faces one count of aggravated sexual assault and one count of sexual assault. Berkowitz faces one count of aggravated sexual assault and three counts of sexual assault.
Criticism of Garza's prosecution of sexual assault cases
During his time as DA, Garza has settled lawsuits brought by survivors of sexual assault against the previous administration, and his office has secured convictions in some sexual assault cases. Some have called him an advocate for sexual assault survivors.
However, he has also been met with criticism when it comes to his office's conviction rate on sexual assault cases.
The PAC Save Austin Now has rallied against Garza, saying he has not done enough to secure justice for sexual assault survivors. Similar accusations were lobbied against Garza by his opponent in the March primary election, Jeremy Sylestine, who ran an ad featuring a sexual assault survivor who said Garza let off the perpetrator in her case with no jail time.
Another group, called the Saving Austin PAC, also targeted Garza in the months leading up to the primary election, running one ad that claimed Garza was "filling the streets with pedophiles and killers."