Elmer Alvarado v. State, 01-14-00965-CR

In Harris County, appellant Elmer Alvarado was tried for aggravated sexual assault of a child under six; the jury convicted him of the lesser-included offense of indecency with a child and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment.
Complainant (pseudonym “Anna”), age five at the time, slept in a bed with appellant and others; she awoke to find appellant’s hand inside her leggings and underwear touching her vaginal area and moving for several seconds.
Anna did not immediately report the incident but later told her mother she had been touched under her panties and was upset during bathing the next day. A forensic interviewer corroborated that Anna gave a clear, consistent account identifying who, where, and what happened.
Appellant was interviewed and declined to discuss details, calling it a “very delicate situation.”
At trial appellant conceded the touching could have occurred as Anna described but argued it was accidental or occurred while he was asleep, challenging the voluntariness and intent elements required for indecency with a child.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Legal sufficiency of evidence to prove intent/voluntariness for indecency with a child	State: a rational jury could infer volitional, intentional sexual contact from the circumstances (hand inside panties, movement, duration, child’s reaction)	Alvarado: touching was accidental or occurred while he was asleep, so not voluntary or intentional	Conviction affirmed: jury could reasonably infer conduct was voluntary and intentional and reject the sleep/accident theory

Adanandus v. State, 866 S.W.2d 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) (voluntariness concerns physical movement element)
Rogers v. State, 105 S.W.3d 630 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (discusses nonvolitional movements and voluntariness)
Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences may support conviction)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (standard for legal sufficiency review)
Gear v. State, 340 S.W.3d 743 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (applying Jackson standard in Texas)
Whatley v. State, 445 S.W.3d 159 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (upholding voluntariness inference where defendant claimed to be asleep)