The prosecution and defense rested their cases Wednesday in the trial of a registered sex offender accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl last year in Bowie County.
The girl was allowed to testify with a pastor sitting next to her as a “comfort person” because of her age and emotional state. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp asked the girl what happened the day her mother went out for a short visit to a friend’s house.
The girl said she was home playing with her dog when Jacobs, whose brother was a friend of the girl’s mother, stopped by. The girl said Jacobs held her down as he kissed her chest and penetrated her with his fingers.
First Assistant Public Defender Will Williams asked the girl if she was confused about what happened because she was upset.
The girl’s mother said she had been away less than one hour when her daughter sent her a text message asking her to come home immediately. The mother said her daughter seemed, “broken,” and told her Jacobs assaulted her. The mother said she called police.
The girl was examined by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner who testified that she collected swabs from the girl’s body. Texarkana, Texas police collected a DNA swab from Jacobs and fingernail clippings from Jacobs after getting a search warrant for the DNA, testified TTPD Detective Kimberly Weaver.
DNA analyst Kristy Chang with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Garland said swabs from the girl’s chest and fingers contained DNA that matched Jacobs’ genetic profile. Jacobs’ DNA was not found on a swab from the girl’s vagina. DNA from the girl matched DNA found in Jacobs’ fingernail clippings, Crisp said in her opening statement.
A 20-year-old woman testified that when she was a 13-year-old living in Louisiana, Jacobs initiated a sexual relationship with her through her My Space page online. The woman said that when she made it clear to Jacobs she was underage, he pursued her anyway.
Jacobs plead guilty to felony carnal knowledge of a child in Louisiana in 2010 and is required to register as a sex offender because of the conviction, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety online sex offender registry.
Jacobs faces five to 99 years or life if convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The jury is scheduled to return to 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart’s court to hear closing arguments Thursday morning at 9 a.m.
