Man takes 12-year plea deal for sexual assault of woman
TEXARKANA, Texas — A man who sexually assaulted a woman while she was passed out was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison as part of a plea bargain in Bowie County.
Jack Ray Dedner Jr., 20, faced a maximum sentence of 20 years had he taken his case to a jury. Dedner sexually assaulted the woman following a party at a Texarkana, Texas, apartment the night of Sept. 23. The woman was too intoxicated to resist or consent.
The woman, 21, reported to investigators that she was in pain and bleeding the day after the party. Text messages Dedner sent apologizing to the woman and minimizing his misconduct were preserved by detectives and would likely have been presented to a jury had the case
gone to trial.
The plea agreement limits Dedner’s right to appeal and spares the victim the trauma of testifying.
Dedner appeared Wednesday morning with Assistant Public Defender Sylvia Delgado for a plea and sentencing before 5th District Judge Bill Miller. Dedner entered a plea of guilty to second-degree sexual assault.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter said the victim in the case declined to make a statement in open court but would submit a written one. Victim impact statements may be considered by officials tasked with determining whether an inmate eligible for parole should be granted release.
The victim sat in the courtroom during the hearing. Her supporters flanked her with arms around her shoulders as they walked from the first-floor courtroom of the Bi-State Justice Building and Dedner was returned to his cell in the building’s fourthfloor jail.
Dedner will remain there until he is transported to a unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve his time. Upon release from prison, Dedner will be required to register as a sex offender.