Suspect in sexual assault wants out on bond
A man accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and of violating a probationary term he was serving at the time of the allegations is asking the court for a chance at pretrial freedom.
Charles Edward
Garton, 40, appeared with Texarkana lawyer Bart Craytor for a pretrial hearing Wednesday afternoon before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart in a first-floor courtroom of Texarkana’s downtown Bi-State Justice Building.
Garton was interviewed by Texas Department of Public Safety investigators with the Criminal Investigation Division after they executed a search warrant in April related to allegations of child sex abuse on the home of John Littleton on Meadow Drive in New Boston, Texas, according to a probable cause used to create the following account. Littleton was facing charges of sexual assault of a child when he was found dead in the Meadow Drive home June 11.
Garton, who was living in the home, allegedly admitted to DPS investigators that he twice sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl, who was also residing in the house during a two-month period prior to execution of the search warrant. Following his arrest in April, Garton was released on a $40,000 personal recognizance bond,
according to court records.
Subsequent to his release on bond on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, officials with the Bowie County Community Supervision and Corrections Department filed a motion to set aside a deferral of adjudication of guilt in a theft of property case for which Garton was serving a term of probation.
Garton received a term of deferred adjudication probation for theft of property in 2015. At Monday’s hearing, Craytor argued that Garton is entitled to a bond in the probation case under the law because Garton has not formally been adjudicated guilty of the offense.
Offenders serving a term of standard probation are not entitled to bond in the event a motion to revoke probation is filed. Lockhart agreed to set a hearing to address the bond issue at a time he and Craytor are both available.
Lockhart set the case for a regular pretrial hearing Nov. 7. Each of the two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child pending against Garton is punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison.