Do Not Publish
MEMORANDUM OPINION
JEFF ROSE, Chief Justice.
A jury convicted Ramon Ponce-Torres of three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by contact. See Tex. Penal Code §§ 21.11(a)(1), 22.021(a)(2)(B). Punishment was assessed at ten years' imprisonment each on Counts I and IV, five years' imprisonment on Count VI, and five years' imprisonment probated for five years on Count XI, to run consecutively with the ten-year sentences on Counts I and IV. On appeal, Ponce-Torres contends that the district court erred in overruling his hearsay objection to a one-page exhibit from his Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) file. We will affirm the judgments of conviction.
BACKGROUND
Ponce-Torres was indicted on six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, six counts of indecency with a child by contact, and four counts of indecency with a child by exposure. At trial, the victim testified that when she was five and six years old she stayed with neighbors Ponce-Torres and his wife while her mother worked at night. The victim testified that Ponce-Torres sexually abused her on several occasions and told her not to tell anyone. She testified that the abuse stopped when she and her mother moved and her mother got a day job.
The victim's mother M.G. testified that when her daughter was four or five, Ponce-Torres's wife was their babysitter, but that arrangement ceased when M.G. and her daughter moved. M.G. testified about changes in her daughter's behavior and school attendance. M.G. stated that her daughter told a school employee that Ponce-Torres had sexually abused her. The school employee in charge of truancy and student behavioral issues testified that the victim said her babysitter's husband had sexually abused her and threatened to hurt her if she reported it. The employee took the victim to the school counselor, who spoke with the victim until police arrived.
The police officer who responded to the call from the school testified that the victim told him about two separate occasions when she was sexually abused by Ponce-Torres. The officer stated that he wrote a report and notified detectives. The detective assigned to the case testified that he spoke with the victim, her mother, and Ponce-Torres. The detective stated that Ponce-Torres's interview was conducted in Spanish and recorded. The detective testified that Ponce-Torres initially admitted that he had touched the victim for his sexual gratification but at the end of the interview he denied everything. The videotaped interview and a certified translation and transcription of the interview were admitted into evidence.
The doctor who evaluated the victim testified that the victim said she had been sexually abused by Ponce-Torres when he and his wife were her babysitters. The doctor testified that the victim's exam was normal, but that she was small for her age. A psychologist also testified about sexual abuse generally, noting that in 90% of sexual abuse cases the perpetrators know their victims. He described for the jury the process of "grooming," stated that it is common for child victims not to tell anyone about their abuse for years, and discussed the effect of sexual abuse on children.
Ponce-Torres put on no evidence during the guilt-innocence phase of trial. The jury found Ponce-Torres guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child (as alleged in Count I/Paragraph I, Count IV/Paragraph III, and Count VI/Paragraph V) and one count of indecency with a child (as alleged in Count XI/Paragraph VII).
Several witnesses testified during the punishment phase of the case, including Officer John Ligon, a deportation officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ligon testified that aggravated sexual assault of a child is an aggravated felony that subjects noncitizens to deportation, and that it would be rare for someone convicted of that offense to be allowed to remain in the United States. According to Ligon, a person convicted of an aggravated felony and given probation would be taken into custody by immigration officials and begin removal proceedings, but a person convicted of an aggravated felony and given a prison sentence would serve his sentence before being deported. Ligon testified that Ponce-Torres was from Landa, Queretaro in Mexico and was currently in removal proceedings because he was undocumented and gave no legal reason for being in the United States. Ligon testified that Ponce-Torres had an immigration detainer placed on him and went into ICE custody on May 22, 2014. Ligon further testified that he brought Ponce-Torres's ICE file with him, which contained identifying information such as Ponce-Torres's photograph and fingerprints, and that the date of birth provided by Ponce-Torres fit the information that ICE had. Ligon testified that because Ponce-Torres was convicted, his file would be sent to immigration trial attorneys to confer with a field office director and determine whether Ponce-Torres's immigration case would go before an immigration judge or proceed with an administrative order of removal. Ligon testified that in cases involving aggravated sexual assault of a child, the convicted person is usually deported.
During Ligon's testimony, the prosecutor offered Exhibit 8—a one-page exhibit from Ponce-Torres's ICE file that contained information including his photograph, fingerprints, date of birth, and country of permanent residence —relying on the business-records exception to the hearsay rule. See Tex. R. Evid. 801(d), 803(6). Ponce-Torres objected that the exhibit was hearsay, lacked a proper foundation for admission, and was not accompanied by a business-records affidavit. The court overruled the objections and admitted the exhibit.
Ponce-Torres's punishment was assessed at ten years' imprisonment each on Counts I and IV, five years' imprisonment on Count VI, and five years' imprisonment probated for five years on Count XI, to run consecutively with the ten-year sentences on Counts I and IV. This appeal followed.
DISCUSSION
In his only appellate issue, Ponce-Torres contends that the district court erred in overruling his hearsay objection to Exhibit 8, the one page from his ICE file. We review a trial court's ruling on the admission of evidence under an abuse of discretion standard and uphold the trial court's ruling if it is within the zone of reasonable disagreement. Tillman v. State, 354 S.W.3d 425, 435 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). The improper admission of evidence "`will not result in reversal when other such evidence was received without objection, either before or after the complained-of ruling.'" Coble v. State, 330 S.W.3d 253, 282 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (quoting Leday v. State, 983 S.W.2d 713, 718 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998)).
Here, Ponce-Torres contends that the district court erred in overruling his hearsay objection to Exhibit 8 because it was not accompanied by a business-records affidavit and because the State did not offer the exhibit through ICE's custodian of records or through "another qualified witness." See Tex. R. Evid. 803(6). However, even if we were to conclude that the court erred by admitting the complained-of evidence, Ponce-Torres has not shown that he was harmed by it. See Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(b). When Exhibit 8 was offered, the jury had already heard Ligon testify without objection to substantially the same evidence when he discussed Ponce-Torres's immigration status. See Coble, 330 S.W.3d at 282; Garraway v. State, No. 03-14-00595-CR, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 3126, at *15-16 (Tex. App.-Austin Apr. 11, 2017, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication); Benitez v. State, No. 05-13-00199-CR, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 7651, at *16 (Tex. App.-Dallas July 15, 2014, pet. ref'd) (not designated for publication). Ligon testified that Ponce-Torres was from Landa, Queretaro, in Mexico; that he had no lawful status in the United States; that his ICE file contained his photograph and fingerprints; that the date of birth he provided fit the information ICE had; and that he had an immigration detainer placed on him and he went into ICE custody on May 22, 2014.
We conclude that any error in admitting Exhibit 8 was rendered harmless by the admission, without objection, of substantially similar testimony from Ligon. We overrule Ponce-Torres's appellate issue.
CONCLUSION
We affirm the judgments of conviction.
