HUTTO — In June of 2010 on Hutto’s Wiltshire Drive, a neighbor
reported hearing a woman in a nearby home call for help. That phone
call would lead to the arrest and conviction of 38-year-old Hugo
Alquicira for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Alquicira pleaded not guilty last week before a Williamson
County jury and received the maximum 20-year sentence for using an
iron as a deadly weapon against his wife.

Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 9-1-1 call
June 27, 2010 and after an investigation, Alquicira was arrested
for assaulting his wife, Maria, by burning her with a hot iron.

Alquicira changed his story while being transported to jail,
District Attorney John Bradley’s office reports, telling officers
that his wife’s injuries came from falling off a bike. During the
trial, Alquicira testified to yet another story, alleging he was
defending himself against his wife’s attack with a sex toy.

After the sentencing, visiting Judge C.W. Duncan, who heard the
case in the 277th District Court, ordered Alquicira be transferred
to prison. He will not be eligible for parole until he has served
half his sentence, Bradley reports.

Further felony charges of retaliation are pending against
Alquicira because of threats he made to his children, who told
officers their father had threatened to kill them if they talked to
the police.

This was one of nearly 1,500 family violence cases law
enforcement officials in the county receive each year, according to
Hope Alliance, a non-profit organization that provides domestic
violence and sexual assault response and prevention services in
Williamson County.

In Hutto, about 50 family violence cases are reported each year,
and many of those result in arrests, according to the Hutto Police
Department.

As a fast-growing county, Williamson experienced a slight
increase in the number of family violence cases over the past year.
Hope Alliance reports a 39-percent increase between 2009 and 2010
in the number of domestic violence victims seeking refuge at its
shelter, the only one of its kind in Williamson County.

“I think there’s a number of things going on,” Patty Conner, CEO
of Hope Alliance, said. “The growth of the county is one. We
continue to be one of the fastest growing counties in the country.
We also know that in difficult economic times, the incidents of
domestic violence increase.”

Also contributing to greater numbers seeking services may be
public awareness campaigns by various organizations, Conner said,
especially the Texas Council on Family Violence, a statewide
non-profit advocacy group focused on prevention of violence through
education and support of service providers.

Originally founded in 1984 as a rape crisis center, Hope
Alliance now spends about 60 percent of its $1.2-million budget on
family violence programs.

“We were incredibly fortunate our family violence funding stayed
level this year,” Conner said.

Williamson County commissioners voted 3:2 to maintain the
organization’s county funding at the same level.

The District Attorney’s Office, which only handles felony cases,
began to see a larger number of domestic violence cases when the
Texas Legislature changed the laws to make more of those crimes
felonies, Bradley said.

For example, a second conviction for domestic violence, formerly
a misdemeanor, became a felony several years ago, according to
Bradley. More recently, a domestic violence incident that involves
strangulation is now considered a felony. Another new crime is
called “continuous family violence,” which involves two acts of
family violence in the same year.

Previously, Bradley said, all of these were misdemeanor
crimes.

The District Attorney’s Office has added a victim coordinator to
focus on these cases and work to reduce the dangers associated with
family violence, something Bradley said will take a cooperative
effort between police, prosecutors, nonprofit organizations,
churches and families.

“I would like to see Hope Alliance, our local nonprofit, play a
bigger role in these cases,” Bradley said.

Hope Alliance, which maintains a 24-hour crisis hotline and
serves about 2,000 people each year, has to help about 20 families
every month find services elsewhere because the Williamson County
shelter is full, Conner said.

Victims may be placed in shelters in nearby communities, such as
Austin, San Marcos, Bastrop and Killeen — if space is
available.

“Oftentimes, victims have to stay in their homes until we can
find a place,” Conner said. “The most important thing is that
survivors know that even though they hear that we are full, call us
and we will help.”

Part of heightening awareness of domestic violence issues is
encouraging reporting, Conner said. In the Alquicira assault,
neighbors called to report suspicious activity.

“In this case, neighbors called the police and likely prevented
even worse violence,” Bradley said in a statement. “We all need to
be vigilant to domestic violence and report it immediately. We have
to raise our awareness of this terrible plague in our
community.”

Hope Alliance instructs those who become aware of a possible
situation to ensure they do not put themselves in danger and to
call law enforcement immediately.

“Sometimes it is up to those who aren’t directly involved to
call authorities,” Conner said. “Often victims are just not in a
position to do that.”