It took a Bowie County jury less than an hour to find Joshua Jacobs, 33, guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child Thursday at the end of a trial at the county courthouse in New Boston, Texas.
Jacobs was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence because of a prior conviction for felony carnal abuse of a juvenile in Louisiana in 2010 involving a 13-year-old girl. Jacobs’ defense attorney, First Assistant Public Defender Will Williams, said Jacobs will be eligible for parole in 35 years.
Jacobs attacked a 12-year-old girl Nov. 25, 2014, at her house in Texarkana, Texas. The girl’s mother wept Wednesday as she testified Wednesday. The mother said she was away from home less than an hour when her daughter sent her a text asking her to come home.
Jacobs, whose brother was a friend of the victim’s mother, had stopped by when the girl was alone. Jacobs forced the girl onto a bed and sexually assaulted her with his hand and put his mouth on her breast. Crime lab experts testified they found Jacobs’ DNA on swabs taken from the girl’s fingers and chest. The girl’s DNA was found on clippings of Jacobs’ fingernails.
Because Jacob did not contest the state’s enhancement allegation involving the prior conviction in Louisiana, 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart sentenced Jacob to life in prison as is mandated for repeat sex offenders under Texas law.
Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp described Jacobs as a sexual predator who targets vulnerable young girls. Jacobs, who had been free on bond, was cuffed and taken into custody by a Bowie County Sheriff’s Office deputy at the end of the trial.
