NEW BOSTON, Texas: A Texarkana man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday for the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl.
Cornell Witcher, 36, was living in a trailer on Wood Duck in Texarkana, Texas, where the girl lived with her mother and other family members. Witcher, who had once dated an older sister of the victim’s, was paying rent for a bedroom in the trailer, First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said.
The girl testified that Witcher would come in the room where she slept at night and sexually assault her. Witcher gave the girl a sexually transmitted infection which led family members to question the girl. The girl made an outcry of sexual abuse against Witcher and reported that he threatened to harm her and her family if she told of the sexual abuse.
The jury found Witcher guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. Crisp said there is no parole from a sentence for that crime under the law in Texas.
“The jury heard evidence—horrendous testimony–that Cornell Witcher sexually abused this young child repeatedly and threatened to kill her and her family if she reported his crimes,” Crisp said. “The result, a conviction for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years and sentence to life without parole, was well-justified. Witcher made his choices and the jury chose his consequences.”
Also prosecuting the case was Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards. Witcher was defended by Assistant Public Defenders Clayton Haas and Amanda Gunn. The trial was presided over by 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
