NEW BOSTON, Texas: A Hooks, Texas, man who sexually abused a young female relative over and over again for more than a year was sentenced Thursday to life without parole by a jury at the Bowie County courthouse.
David Anthony Turney, 34, is not eligible for parole. The offense Turney has now been convicted of, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, is punishable by 25 to 99 years or life and there is no parole from any prison term assessed for the offense. Turney is now in Bowie County custody and will be held in jail locally until he is transported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Turney sexually abused the girl in a Hooks, Texas, residence from 2015 to May 2017, according to testimony at trial. The girl, now 12 and born in 2006, testified that she received pieces of candy in exchange for playing “special kid” with Turney in the bathroom of a house in Hooks where Turney lived with the girl, her mother and siblings.
The girl’s older sister, now 14 and born in 2004, testified that Turney gave her Pokemon cards for playing “special kid.” Charges concerning Turney’s alleged sexual abuse of the older girl are currently pending before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
The mother of the girls testified that she developed an uneasy, suspicious feeling after finding a sex toy on a high shelf in a bathroom. The mother said that after asking her daughters about the device she left home with her children and later contacted police.
The offense Turney has now been convicted of, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, is punishable by 25 to 99 years or life and there is no parole from any prison term assessed for the offense. Turney is now in Bowie County custody and will be held in jail locally until he is transported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter described Turney as a predator whose presence in the community is a threat to all young girls. Carter thanked the jury for their service.
Turney was represented by Texarkana attorneys Bart Craytor and Danny Cook.
