The man accused of assaulting a 7-year-old girl as she walked home from school last month in the Woodland Heights neighborhood has been added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List.
Carlos Jose Ayala Morales, 43, was added to the list by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
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Officials with the U.S. Marshals also confirmed to KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry that the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force is part of the search for Ayala.
Ayala is currently wanted in Harris County for attempted indecency with a child by sexual contact. The incident occurred just after 3 p.m. on Jan. 27. HPD said Ayala “inappropriately grabbed and touched” the girl while she was walking in the 800 block of Omar Street.
Born in Honduras, Ayala’s criminal record also includes a conviction IN 2000 for burglary of a building in Dallas, resulting in a six-month confinement sentence.
In 2018, he was convicted of evading arrest with a vehicle and three counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, involving two 14-year-old girls and one 12-year-old girl. Additionally, he was convicted of indecency with a child by exposure involving an 8-year-old girl. Similarly to his current charge, several of these attacks occurred while the victims walked home from school.
For his previous sexual assaults, Ayala received a seven-year confinement sentence for each charge, to be served concurrently. He was discharged from a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility in 2024.
OUR FIRST REPORT: Houston police looking for man who groped 7-year-old girl while she walked home from school in Woodland Heights
Ayala is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing approximately 130 pounds. He has tattoos on his abdomen, back, right hand, and both arms.
Texas Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to his arrest. Tips will remain anonymous and can be submitted by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can also submit tips through the DPS website or through Facebook.
