Two Texas sisters accused of holding, beating and physically enslaving a 12-year-old girl, who investigators said the couple had helped in an earlier abuse situation, have been indicted on federal charges, court records show.
Tania Evette Garcia37 i Brenda Mariana Garciaaged 39, are both charged with one count of kidnapping and a forced labor chargethe US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced in a press release Monday, February 9.
Brenda’s federal defense attorney, Guy Lee Womackdid not return immediately Us Weekly’s request for comment. A federal defense attorney was not immediately listed for Tania in court records reviewed by we on Tuesday, February 10.
The federal case comes after the sisters, both of Conroe, were first arrested by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office under state charges after deputies say they responded to a call about a 12-year-old girl who shared that she had been physically and sexually abused, according to an Oct. 6 news release shared by the agency.
An affidavit in support of a federal criminal complaint reveals alleged details of the severe abuse Tania and Brenda are accused of inflicting on the girl, who was found walking alone, seeking help, on a street in Splendora, Texas, on Sept. 28, according to investigators.
A witness discovered that the girl “was malnourished, injured and wearing a tie around her wrist” that day, the affidavit he says
The girl told a Montgomery County deputy that she had just escaped from Brenda and Tania’s home, where she had been beaten by the sisters for the past six months, according to the affidavit.
A girl reported missing from Texas by her mother more than four years ago was found safe in Mexico after her father was accused of kidnapping her in the country, Us Weekly has learned. The 12-year-old boy was “safely recovered” in Mexico by U.S. Marshals Service officers on January 20 and has since been reunited with (…)
In a forensic interview, the girl said she had been living with her maternal great-uncle before she was allegedly abused by the sisters, the affidavit says.
In March 2025, the girl told a family friend, who was Brenda’s daughter, that her uncle had sexually abused her since she was 6 years old, according to the filing.
Brenda, Brenda’s daughter and Tania then worked together to “remove (the) girl from her uncle’s home after obtaining photographic evidence of the abuse,” the affidavit says.
The girl began living with Brenda and Tania later that month, according to the affidavit.
About two months later, in May 2025, Brenda took her to meet a Harris County deputy to discuss the alleged sexual abuse she suffered by her uncle and another relative, the affidavit says.
His uncle, authorities say, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a boy in Harris County.
No further information about his criminal case was immediately available. It was not immediately clear if he had retained an attorney.
After Brenda took the girl to speak with a deputy in May 2025, the girl said Brenda hit her “for the first time because, according to Brenda GARCIA, her statements to the officer were ‘contradictory,'” the affidavit says.
After the girl’s report, Brenda allegedly told a Child Protective Services worker that the girl was “returned to Honduras,” where the girl’s mother lived, according to the affidavit.
Brenda “then told (the girl) that now no one would be looking for her anymore,” the affidavit says.
The girl told investigators that Brenda and her sister repeatedly abused her over the next several months and gave her barely enough food to eat, according to the filing.
“She reported being beaten with cords, laptop chargers, a cane and sticks by both Brenda and Tania,” who are accused of forcing her “to strip during many of the beatings.”
The sisters are accused of filming and taking photos of the abuse.
The girl also shared with investigators that she was routinely tied up and made to do a lot of housework as a method of punishment, according to the affidavit.
“In short, Brenda and Tania GARCIA treated her as a slave and forced her to work in and out of the residence, cleaning and maintaining livestock and property,” the affidavit states.
If both women are convicted in the federal case, they each face a possible life sentence, according to federal prosecutors.
Defense attorneys separately representing Tania and Brenda in their state criminal cases did not immediately return requests for comment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Helpline for children at 1-800-422-4453.