Man gets 70 years for sex abuse

LINDEN, Texas—A man convicted of sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy recently received a 70-year prison sentence from a Cass County jury

Joshua Lee Bolton, 28, was found guilty May 11 of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact. The jury sentenced Bolton to 50 years for the assault and assessed two 10-year terms for the indecency offenses. Fifth District Judge Bill Miller ordered the terms to run consecutively.

The boy was spending his 2015 Thanksgiving break with grandparents outside the city limits of Atlanta, Texas, when he was sexually assaulted by Bolton in their home, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Bolton was staying at the house while performing work on the home.

Bolton repeatedly abused the boy and made the child promise he wouldn’t tell anyone of his misconduct. But when the boy returned home to his mother following the holiday, he told her about

the abuse. The boy was interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Texarkana, Texas, after the mother contacted the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

Cass County First Assistant District Attorney Courtney Shelton, who prosecuted Bolton, said she is grateful for the jury’s service and the message their verdicts and sentences send to other would-be child predators.

“I am extremely proud of the victim for coming forward and testifying. If it weren’t for his bravery and the support of his family and Bikers Against Child Abuse this would not have been possible,” Shelton said. “I am also very appreciative of the hard work of the CCSO, Texarkana CAC and the Texas Dept. of Public Safety Crime Lab. Because of the efforts of all involved, a child predator has been put behind bars for a very long time.”