Roy Dean Brown, 51, was found guilty of sexually abusing the daughter of his former girlfriend and sentenced to 50 years at the end of a jury trial Thursday afternoon at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston, Texas.
The jury of nine women and six men found Brown guilty of the continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and of a second degree sexual assault which occurred after the victim turned 14. Brown received a 50-year sentence for the continuous abuse charge and a 20-year term for the second degree assault which 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart ordered to run concurrently.
The victim, who is now 20, told family members at a group picnic Aug. 7, 2010, that Brown had been abusing her sexually since she was five or six years old.
“That’s over half her life,” argued Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards in closing remarks during the trial’s punishment phase.
The victim’s mother testified Brown began living with her, her daughter, and her now 23-year-old son in 1998, when her daughter was 2. The mother said her job often required time away from the home and she left her daughter in Brown’s care.
Brown’s lawyer, Carl Franklin of Shreveport, asked the jury to show mercy on a man who has no prior criminal history.
“I believe he can be a productive member of society when he gets out,” Franklin argued. “He is not the type of person we need to throw away.”
But Richards and Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp asked the jury for a sentence that means Brown will never pose a threat to children again.
“There are no little girls in prison,” Crisp argued. “Put him there long enough that he will never be around children again.”
The victim testified Wednesday that Brown made her earn treats like fast food, trips to the dollar store, and a cell phone through sexual activity.
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about earning,” Richards argued. “What has Roy Dean Brown earned?”
Crisp described Brown as a “monster who looks like everybody else.”
“Most kids earn money by doing chores or mowing the yard, but not at your house? Didn’t she have to put her mouth on your penis to get a slushy from Sonic,” Crisp asked Brown when he took the stand during the guilt or innocence phase of his trial.
Brown continued to deny his guilt but the jury ultimately sided with the victim.
The jury was told by 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart that Brown is not eligible for parole on the charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 for which he received a 50-year term. That means Brown will be around 100 before he can be released.
