BEAUMONT, Texas — The jury in the trial of a man charged with sexually abusing two children has reached a guilty verdict.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a November 16, 2021 newscast.)
Just after 1 p.m. Tuesday, Justin Louviere was found guilty on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child and of the lesser offense of indecency with a child, in the second case.
Louviere was originally sentenced to 40 years in prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child and 20 years in prison for indecency with a child.
Louviere had a hearing Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, seeking to prevent his sentences from running consecutively. After a lengthy discussion, the judge ruled that the sentences shall run concurrently for only 40 years behind bars.
He will receive credit for time served in jail since the charge was filed. Once released, he will not be able to own a firearm.
Louviere was indicted on April 17, 2019, and was originally charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of continuous sexual abuse.
When testimony began on Nov. 16, two young children were among the witnesses sworn in to testify against Louviere.
Louviere, who is being tried in Criminal District Court before Judge John Stevens, rejected a plea deal from prosecutors for a 30-year prison sentence and opted to go to trial.
In opening statements, the prosecutor told jurors that for a charge of continuous sexual abuse the abuse must go on for at least 30 days.
She also told the jury that the abuse went on much longer than that and warned them that their job would be difficult as young children would be testifying.
Defense attorney Bruce Smith did not make an opening statement to jurors.
The same jury that convicted him is now hearing testimony in the punishment phase.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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