CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Nueces County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been arrested following an investigation into a child injury incident.
Corporal Joel Villasenor, age not specified, of Corpus Christi, Texas, was taken into custody by the Corpus Christi Police Department on charges of injury to a child, a third-degree felony, according to a press release from the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office. The incident reportedly occurred at Villasenor’s residence while he was off duty.
Villasenor was booked into the Nueces County Jail on February 4, 2026, at 3:03 p.m. and has since been released on a $25,000 bond. He is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation, the sheriff’s office stated.
The Nueces County Sheriff’s Office explained that Villasenor remains on paid leave due to civil service protections related to termination. “We as an agency still have an obligation to conduct an internal investigation that is totally separate from the criminal investigation,” stated the sheriff’s office. “The minute we quit paying an employee under investigation, they are no longer obligated to report to us for interviews and other processes that are necessary to complete the internal investigation.”