An appeals court upheld the child sex abuse convictions of a Willis man sentenced to life in prison of sexual assault to his daughter when she was a teenager in the 1990s.
The 60-year old man was found guilty by the jury in July 2013 on separate counts of first- and second-degree sexual assault of a child. He was sentenced to life in prison on the first-degree felony charge and another 20 years for the second-degree felony.
The man argued that the jury should not have allowed hearsay testimony from the victim’s mother or outcry witness testimony from the police officer who took the victim’s initial report of the abuse in 2011 when she was 28 years old and more than a decade had elapsed since the last reported incident.
The appeals court in its Jan. 28 opinions agreed that the man’s objections were valid, but even if the jury was wrong to overrule the objections at trial, the error was harmless considering the totality of the case.
The victim testified in 2013 that the man began grooming her for sexual abuse when she was 8 years old, and that inappropriate touching turned into sexual intercourse by the time she was 13 and her mother was wheelchair-bound with multiple sclerosis.
The victim confided in her cousin when they were both 13 and discussing virginity.
Two years later, the victim’s sister and a friend walked in on the man sexually abusing the 15-year-old girl.
The man lived in a separate part of their residence, which the mother could not access with her wheelchair.
The victim as a teenager wrote a letter revealing the abuse, which her mother testified to reading but not believing the allegations at the time.
The man argued that the mother’s testimony on her recollection of the letter written by the victim was hearsay evidence. He also argued that the victim was well past the age allowed by law for an outcry witness statement.
Allegations of sex assault on a child are extremely serious, and unfortunately, there are many cases in which a person is mistakenly charged with these felony charges. Regardless of how sex assault on a child charges are brought about, it’s crucial that the accused defendant work with an experienced Texas sex assault on a child defense lawyer in order to ensure that not only his rights are fully protected but also to ensure that he has the best chances of resolving his case as favorably as possible.
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If you have been accused of child pornography or sexual assault of a child, Call or text 24/7 Attorney Abogado Yong J. An at 832 428 5679. Criminal Defense Attorney Abogado
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