Former Galena Park Police Chief arrested

EDWARD J. MATA
EDWARD J. MATA

Charged with Sexual Assault

Edward J. Mata, 49, former police chief of the City of Galena Park, was booked into the Harris County jail on Tuesday, March 6.

Mata has been charged with raping a woman at the Regency Inn motel in Galena Park in October of last year.

Court documents detailed a vivid encounter between the two, with Mata forcing himself on her, and physically and sexually assaulting her.

They ended up on a bed without clothes, after the incident, but the woman said she left after Mata fell asleep.

Mata has told investigators that he met the woman through social events, and in October they began a friendship and flirting through text messages on their phones. Mata indicated that their tryst at the motel was a mutual meeting, and that the sexual encounter was consensual. Court documents indicate the encounter was on October 29, 2017.

After leaving the employment of Galena Park, Mata was employed by Constable Precinct 6 until the end of February. He also has been working part-time as a security officer. He was arrested at his home in Katy.