A former Fort Bliss sergeant was sentenced to eight years in state prison for breaking into a woman’s El Paso home and attempting to sexually assault her, according to local prosecutors. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
A former Fort Bliss sergeant was sentenced to eight years in state prison for breaking into a woman’s El Paso home and attempting to sexually assault her, according to local prosecutors.
Christopher Aaron Rey, 30, was scheduled for a jury trial this week but instead took a plea deal in December, according to the El Paso District Attorney’s Office. He pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony.
Once released from prison, Rey will have to register as a sex offender. He is serving his sentence at Rogelio Sanchez State Prison in El Paso and is eligible for parole in 2027, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice online records.
Former Fort Bliss Sgt. Christopher Aaron Rey, 30, was arrested April 12, 2023, in El Paso, Texas, after a woman identified him as the man who forced his way into her apartment and attempted to sexually assault her. He was sentenced in December 2024 to eight years in state prison and will be required to register as a sex offender. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Rey was arrested in April 2023 after a woman, who was 19 years old at the time, told police she was leaving her apartment to walk her dog when Rey forced his way inside.
The woman began to scream, and Rey told her to shut up and covered her mouth, according to an arrest affidavit from the El Paso Police Department. He moved his hands to her throat and then pushed her onto a couch in the living room. She told police that he removed some of her clothing and began to touch her while she screamed and kicked. He then stopped and ran out of the apartment.
The woman told police that she had seen Rey the week prior at a laundromat, according to the affidavit. Police reviewed video surveillance footage from the laundromat and a nearby car dealership and found video of Rey and his vehicle, a blue Hyundai Tucson.
Four days after the attempted assault, the woman called police because she could see Rey in his military uniform through a doorbell video camera standing outside her apartment checking the doorknob.
Police arrived at the woman’s apartment and found Rey driving his vehicle slowly along the street, according to the affidavit.
At the time of the attack, Rey was an infantryman stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso. He was discharged November 2024, according to his official service record. Rey served in the Army from July 2012 until November 2015. He then re-enlisted in November 2017. He deployed once to Djibouti.
