Man sentenced to six life sentences
NEW BOSTON, Texas — A man convicted of sexually abusing his girlfriend’s daughter for several years and impregnating her when she was 14 has been sentenced to six life prison sentences in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
A jury of four men and four women found Christopher Darrell Brown, 46, of Texarkana, Texas, guilty Wednesday on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14 and five counts of sexual assault of a child.
On Thursday morning, the jury sentenced Brown to life on each charge plus a $10,000 fine. The sentences will run consecutively.
There is no chance of parole on the continuous sexual abuse charge. The remaining five sentences have the possibility of parole.
The trial was in Bowie County’s 202nd District Court before Judge John Tidwell. First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp and Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards prosecuted for the
state. Brown is represented by attorney Joshua Potter.
During testimony in the sentencing portion of the trial, the victim, who is now 18, wept as she told the jury how the years of sexual abuse have affected her life. She testified that she moved out of her mother’s house during the police investigation of Brown, because her mother did not support her.
She and her infant daughter stayed with different friends while she worked to finish high school and get a job.
“It’s been extremely hard,” she said. “It was hard for me to get a job, because I didn’t have my birth certificate or Social Security card.”
She said teachers and her principal helped her finish school and get a job and state identification card.
The victim, who now is enrolled in a university, said her situation is still challenging.
“I’m still going through it,” she told the jury under questioning by Richards. “I have stress hives. I can’t eat or sleep, and I don’t have a mother figure. I needed my mother and my childhood.”
Her daughter, who is now 3, keeps her going, she said.
“She’s the only reason I fight. It’s been extremely hard.”
The victim’s older sister also testified in the punish
ment phase of the trial about how Brown acted with her when she was younger.
She testified that Brown would give her money to take her pants off and “twirl around” for him. She also testified about calling the police when Brown began acting aggressively toward the girls after the victim told her mother he had fathered her child.
She testified that the family argued and that their mother believed Brown over her daughter.
Brown continued to deny he had fathered the victim’s baby until DNA testing proved otherwise.
“He went and got a Bible and swore he never abused her. He put his hand on the Bible and still lied,” the sister said.