Appeals court upholds jury conviction of child sex abuser
TEXARKANA, Texas — A Texas appellate court has affirmed convictions and a 45-year sentence for a man found guilty of sexually abusing his former wife’s young relative by a Bowie County jury following a trial in 2019.
Jonathan Edward Williams, 37, was found guilty in November 2019 of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact. The jury gave Williams to 30 years on the aggravated charge and 15 years on each of the indecency counts.
The two 15-year terms were ordered to run concurrently to each other but consecutive to the 30-year term.
The victim was 26 at the time of Williams’ trial and testified about abuse she suffered at his hands beginning when she was under the age of 10. A friend of the victim’s testified about inappropriate conduct she witnessed by Williams while spending time with the victim when they were children.
Williams called both women liars during his time on the witness stand.
On appeal, Williams argued that the prosecutor made inappropriate statements and interjected her personal opinions into the case before the jury. He also complained that his lawyer was ineffective and that the defense mounted for him at trial was so poor as to warrant a new trial.
The 6th District Court of
Appeals in Texarkana rejected both claims in an opinion issued Dec. 21.
Williams is currently being held in a unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Livingston, Texas. TDCJ’s website shows Williams will be parole eligible May 8, 2027.
Eligibility for parole is not a guarantee that parole will be granted.