A judicial candidate in the May 26 Democratic primary runoff election is married to a registered sex offender with an extensive arrest record and ties to a bail bonds company that has faced legal repercussions for kidnapping and assault, court records show.
El Paso County Court at Law No. 2 candidate Christina Montes’ husband, Juan Manuel Montes, is required to register as a sex offender for life, according to the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry. He pleaded guilty in 2013 to a felony charge of indecency with a child by contact, age 12, in a 2011 incident.
The victim has the same name and age as someone related to Christina Montes, court records show. El Paso Matters is not releasing the victim’s name to protect their privacy.
The charges against Juan Manuel Montes were dropped in 2020 after he successfully completed his deferred adjudication, which included seven years of community supervision. He is still required to update his information on the sex offender registry four times a year.
Christina Montes is also facing a $50,000 lawsuit for breach of contract filed this year by the owner of the building that formerly housed her law office.
She did not respond to El Paso Matters’ request for an interview or to answer written questions about her background and candidacy. She also didn’t respond to questions from El Paso Matters ahead of the March 3 primary, including for the publication’s voter guide.
Christina Montes is facing Frances Maldonado in the Democratic runoff after they received 45% and 34% of the vote, respectively, during the March 3 primary election, beating out Sergio Saldivar.
The winner of the runoff will preside over criminal misdemeanor cases such as DWIs, family violence, bond forfeitures, burglaries and prostitution.
With no Republicans running for the seat, the winner of the runoff will be seated Jan. 1, 2027, and serve a four-year term.
The winner of the race will replace Julie Gonzalez, who has been a judge for about 30 years, and did not seek reelection.
Maldonado said the next judge needs to be someone with “the highest standards of integrity” whom the public can trust. She said voters deserve to hear from Montes about potential issues involving her suitability to be a judge.
“While I have not reviewed the documents referenced and don’t have the full set of facts to comment on specific details, the information reported is deeply concerning. These are questions that my opponent needs to answer to the public because the voters deserve transparency,” Maldonado said in a statement to El Paso Matters.
“Judicial ethics require judges to remain fully independent, making decisions free from any personal bias or external influence. This is especially critical in a court that handles sensitive cases involving victims of crime – including domestic violence, harassment, protective order violations and indecent exposure – where community and victim safety are at stake. When personal experiences or perceived biases interfere with impartiality, it undermines public trust in our justice system,” she added.
Who are Christina and Juan Manuel Montes?
Christina Montes earned her law degree in 2018 from the Whittier College School of Law in California, and her attorney’s license in 2019, according to the State Bar of Texas website. The year before her law school graduation, Whittier announced it would be closing because of declining enrollment and poor graduate performance on bar exams.
She owns a law firm, which focuses on criminal, family, immigration and juvenile cases.
Christina Montes, who at the time went by Christina Mireles, married Juan Manuel Montes in 2006, El Paso County marriage records show.
She is a mother of six, according to her Facebook page.
In the weeks running up to the March 3 primary election, Christina Montes shared photos on Facebook of herself campaigning alongside Juan Manuel Montes.
State and county records show both live at the same address in Far East El Paso, near Socorro.
Juan Manuel Montes was arrested in 2012 and charged with indecency with a child by contact and sexual performance by a child. He entered into a plea agreement in 2013 that included a guilty plea to the indecency charge, which resulted in deferred adjudication and lifetime listing on the sexual offender registry.
Juan Manuel Montes was placed under community supervision for seven years and required to do 750 hours of community service. He was released from community supervision in 2020.
The plea agreement and sentence was approved by 171st District Judge Bonnie Rangel, who is retiring from the bench this year. Rangel donated $150 to Christina Montes’ campaign on Jan. 22 this year, campaign finance reports show.
As a registered sex offender, Juan Manuel Montes is required by Texas law to regularly report his home address, place of work and other personal information to local law enforcement.
Juan Manuel Montes was among a group of five “bounty hunters” arrested in 2018 after they were accused of abducting the mother of a person free on bond and her child as part of an effort to coerce the person on bond to turn themselves in. The bounty hunters were working for 9ONE5 Bail Bonds, according to court records.
The bounty hunters stormed into the family’s home, brandishing firearms, and threatened to arrest the mother without legal authority, according to court records.
At the time, Juan Manuel Montes would have been under community supervision, which typically restricts the possession of a firearm. Two of the bounty hunters arrested during the incident were also convicted felons barred from possessing firearms.
Juan Manuel Montes was charged with aggravated kidnapping, impersonating a public servant and unauthorized contract with a bail bond surety. The charges were dismissed in 2022 due to insufficient evidence, court records show.
Christina Montes represented 9ONE5 Bail Bonds and the bounty hunters in a lawsuit related to the incident, which argued that the company failed to adequately screen, train and ensure their employees were competent to complete their duties.
In February of this year, a judge ordered the company to pay the family $60,000 for the mental anguish and emotional distress caused by the event. One of the bounty hunters who did not respond to the lawsuit, Christian Jurado, was also ordered to pay $40,000.
Fernando Serrano, the owner of 9ONE5 Bailbonds, donated $500 to Christina Montes’ campaign on Jan. 22, which matched the largest donation she received for her race, records show.
Juan Manuel Montes’ arrest record dates back to 1998. Other than the indecency charge, his charges – including possession of a prohibited weapon, robbery and forgery – were dismissed.
Both Christina Montes and Juan Manuel Montes have been charged with a parent contributing to non-attendance, meaning they failed to ensure their child attended school, resulting in a significant number of unexcused absences. Both were ordered to pay fines and in one instance, Juan Manuel Montes served jail time.
Real estate company Oro Investments is suing Christina Montes for at least $50,000 for breach of contract. The lawsuit, filed in February, alleges she failed to pay the rent on her Downtown law firm office and abandoned the property in August 2025, before the lease expired.
Oro Investments did not respond to El Paso Matters’ request for comment.
Christina Montes’ former office, which shares a building with 9ONE5 Bail Bonds, sits empty at the intersection of East San Antonio Avenue and South Virginia Street, with her name and logo still etched on the windows.
Her new office is just blocks away on St. Vrain Street at the former Alibi Bar and Grill, which was operated by S&M Entertainment, according to business records. State records show Christina Montes is listed as the business’ manager.
County records show Christina Montes also owns EP Party Plug, which operates out of her home, and the now closed Alibi East Bar and Grill, which was located on North Zaragoza Road.
The post El Paso judicial candidate Christina Montes’ husband is registered sex offender tied to bail bond kidnapping case appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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