A Temple man who pleaded guilty to molesting a 9-year-old boy received a lengthy prison sentence Monday.
Isaac Paul, 19, was indicted March 25 on a charge of aggravated sexual assault.
http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html
“We went to church together,” the victim’s father said.
The victim, who is now 11, told police Paul molested him several times in July 2013.
The boy’s father said his son now questions his sexuality due to the abuse.
“It’s been a journey for him,” the father said. “I have to sit down with him quite often to let him know it’s nothing he’s done.”
Paul pleaded guilty to performing oral sex on the boy in October 2014 and was sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation in December 2014. But prosecutors said family members of the molested boy were angered at the lenient sentence. Soon after, Paul was arrested while on probation and charged with additional sex acts.
Paul’s defense attorney, Michael Magana, called his client to the stand and Paul testified he was remorseful and trying to move on with his life.
“I tried to keep as much distance as I could from them,” Paul said. “I even moved to a different town.”
Paul said the sexual assaults occurred on a single day, not over a month as claimed by the victim.
When cross-examined by prosecutor Nelson Barnes, Paul spoke softly and often hung his head.
Barnes pointed out Paul’s own statement to police some eight months after the offense in which Paul admitted to multiple acts of sexual abuse during July 2013.
“You forced sex on a 9-year-old boy, didn’t you?” Barnes asked.
“I didn’t force him,” Paul replied.
Paul’s responses to questions from the prosecution eventually led to questions from the judge, who pushed Paul on his statements to police in the months after the abuse. “Why did you do this?” Trudo asked.
“Ma’am, I honestly don’t know,” Paul answered. “It was just a very stupid mistake I made.”
Prosecutors asked Trudo to sentence Paul to 30 years.
“He’s earned every day and probably more,” Barnes said in closing arguments, while Magana asked Trudo to sentence his client to no more than 10 years.
Trudo met them in the middle, sentencing Paul to 15 years in state prison.
Paul must also register as a sex offender for life.
