A Honduran man who lived in Houston was sentenced to life in prison this week for repeatedly sexually assaulting two girls and then trying to kill both and burn down their house in 2020, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

“We have to protect our community, our children, from monsters like this,” Ogg said. “Not only did he sexually assault two little girls, he tried to kill them and burn their house down to cover his tracks. He is a predator.”

Jose Orbin Martinez-Lopez, 46, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14. Martinez-Lopez cannot appeal the conviction.

Martinez-Lopez broke into a home in southwest Houston where the sisters, ages 11 and 12, lived to attack them on Sept. 10, 2020. Martinez-Lopez, who is 5 feet 3 inches tall, was able to get in through a small window.

He slashed one girl’s throat with a box cutter and when her sister came to help, he locked both in a room and set a fire inside the house. He then fled.

First responders were able to help the girls, and both survived.

Investigators with the Houston Police Department learned that Martinez-Lopez knew the family of the girls and had been in the house several times before. At different times before the fire, he had sexually assaulted both young girls. After they told family members what he did, he broke in and tried to kill them.

Martinez-Lopez planned to escape back to Honduras but apparently missed his flight. He was arrested trying to get another flight out of Houston and held on a $1 million bond.

In May, he pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child. After a hearing on Tuesday in which both girls were able to testify against their attacker, he was sentenced by a judge.

Division Chief Denise Nichols, who heads the DA’s Crimes Against Children Division, prosecuted the case with Katlin Robinson, a chief in the trial bureau.

“I’ve been a prosecutor for 24 years, and this was one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen,” Nichols said. “After knowing everything that these girls went through, it is just amazing to see how much courage they had — this was their moment to tell what happened and get justice and move forward.”

Martinez-Lopez must serve at least 30 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole.