Sexual assault verdict appealed by Kaufman man

No one should have to suffer sexual abuse or physical abuse at the hands of someone else. Crimes against one’s person can have lasting effects on a person and may result in not only physical suffering but mental suffering. Depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental symptoms can plague a victim for life.

A 48-year-old man in Kaufman County, Texas, was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for each of three counts of “indecency of a child by sexual content.” The sentence was ordered to be carried out concurrently and provided the possibility of parole. Originally, the charges were for “continuous sexual abuse of a child.” However, the public defender helped the man procure a plea deal to lesson the charges.

The man is not happy with the sentence and wants a new trial with a new attorney. He alleges as his reason that there have been communication problems with his current attorney. The prosecuting attorney stated that if there is a retrial, there will not be another plea deal on the table.

What this might mean for this 48-year-old man is that he will be facing the original charges instead of the reduced charges and could end up facing even more years in prison if found guilty. The original charges, which were three counts of “continuous sexual abuse of a child,” carry sentences of 25 to 99 years in prison and no parole possibilities.

Victims of sexual assault may be able to get some satisfaction from holding their abusers accountable in a civil court of law. Their pain and suffering is something they will have to live with and seeing justice done in a criminal court, is often not enough to lessen the emotional and/or physical damage that may have been done.

Source: Forney.com, “Kaufman County man requests retrial after sentenced to 20 years, could now face life” Matthew Richards, Jul. 17, 2014