Posted 10:21 pm Thursday, February 07, 2013
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Tyler man gets life for sexual assault of child
A Smith County jury sentenced a Tyler man to life Wednesday after finding him guilty of repeatedly raping a young girl from the time she was in the second grade until last year.
The trial for Cesar Gomez, 33, took place in the 241st District Court with Judge Jack Skeen Jr. presiding.
Gomez was facing a sentence of 25 to 99 years or life in prison at sentencing for continuous sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony.
There is no possibility of parole, because the law states that someone who is convicted of continuous sexual assault is not eligible for parole, prosecutor Jason Parrish said.
The girl, now 15, cried on Tuesday as she told a jury about the sexual assaults that continued to take place even as she begged Gomez to stop.
The defendant threatened to kill the teenager and her mother if she told anyone, the teenager testified. Law enforcement officials testified that the defendant’s home had cameras placed inside and out, and a monitor was placed in his master bedroom.
The trial for Cesar Gomez, 33, took place in the 241st District Court with Judge Jack Skeen Jr. presiding.
Gomez was facing a sentence of 25 to 99 years or life in prison at sentencing for continuous sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony.
There is no possibility of parole, because the law states that someone who is convicted of continuous sexual assault is not eligible for parole, prosecutor Jason Parrish said.
The girl, now 15, cried on Tuesday as she told a jury about the sexual assaults that continued to take place even as she begged Gomez to stop.
The defendant threatened to kill the teenager and her mother if she told anyone, the teenager testified. Law enforcement officials testified that the defendant’s home had cameras placed inside and out, and a monitor was placed in his master bedroom.
Tyler police found two handguns in Gomez’ truck soon after his arrest in March, and prosecutors said he could have threatened the girl and her mother with them.
Two forensic scientists from the Department of Public Safety Lab in Garland told jurors Wednesday that they tested bedding from the girl’s bedroom and found the defendant’s bodily fluid and DNA on it, along with girl’s DNA.
In his closing statements to the jury before they decided on punishment, Parrish pointed to Gomez and called him a “piece of filth” who treated the victim “like garbage.”
He told the jury that the girl is a survivor and that she will spend the rest of her life surviving.
Defense attorney Don Davidson told jurors that it would be necessary for them to “make a leap of faith” to say that because Gomez owned a gun, he threatened to kill the girl and her mother.
Davidson said he could understand the jury’s desire to demonize Gomez, but asked jurors to follow the law.
“We want to believe and protect a child, but that doesn’t automatically mean that the child is saying the truth,” Davidson said.
Two forensic scientists from the Department of Public Safety Lab in Garland told jurors Wednesday that they tested bedding from the girl’s bedroom and found the defendant’s bodily fluid and DNA on it, along with girl’s DNA.
In his closing statements to the jury before they decided on punishment, Parrish pointed to Gomez and called him a “piece of filth” who treated the victim “like garbage.”
He told the jury that the girl is a survivor and that she will spend the rest of her life surviving.
Defense attorney Don Davidson told jurors that it would be necessary for them to “make a leap of faith” to say that because Gomez owned a gun, he threatened to kill the girl and her mother.
Davidson said he could understand the jury’s desire to demonize Gomez, but asked jurors to follow the law.
“We want to believe and protect a child, but that doesn’t automatically mean that the child is saying the truth,” Davidson said.
