NEW BOSTON, Texas: A jury in Bowie County sentenced a Texarkana man to life in prison Thursday for sexual assault of a child involving a victim who was 14 when she had his baby.
Christopher Jeff Langston, 47, was 39 when a 14-year-old girl gave birth to his son in 2014. A jury convicted Langston of sexual assault of a child Thursday. The jury also heard testimony from two other witnesses who allege they were sexually abused by Langston when they were 14.
After hearing of Langston’s long criminal history with multiple convictions for drug dealing, the jury of seven men and five women sentenced Langston to life in prison and assessed a fine of $10,000.
“He’s a dope dealer who rapes children,” First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said in closing arguments. “He deserves every bit of that life sentence and frankly we should have been here a long time ago. He cannot control himself around children.”
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards noted that Langston was sending “love letters” to the victim when she was 15 and he was locked up in the Bowie County jail on a drug crime.
“Put him away so he never can have access to a child again,” Richards argued. “You all can hold him accountable today.”
Crisp, Richards and Assistant District Attorney Bradley Akin pointed to testimony from multiple witnesses that they have been contacted by unknown phone numbers advising them not to cooperate with prosecutors and police in Langston’s case.
Langston is facing additional charges of sexual assault involving the two other alleged victims, a charge of witness tampering and a charge of possession of contraband in the Bowie County jail.
Langston allegedly called the victim from jail in May 2021 from the jail on a smuggled cell phone. Inmates are prohibited from having cell phones in the jail. Langston allegedly told the victim to deny that he is the father of their child.
Langston was represented at trial by Texarkana attorney John Delk, who was court appointed. 102nd District Judge Jeff Addison presided over the trial.
