KOUNTZE, Texas — A 68-year-old Hardin County man will spend the rest of his life in prison for sexually abusing a child under 14.
Charles Philip Hatton, 68, was found guilty of continuous sexual assault of a child under 14 by a Hardin County jury on Tuesday following a two-day trial.
The jury also found him guilty of a charge of indecency by sexual contact and two charges of indecency by exposure according to Hardin County assistant district attorney Kaneshia Moore.
He was sentenced to life on the continuous sexual abuse charge, 20 years on the indecency by sexual contact and 10 years for each indecency by exposure charge she said.
Hatton, who was not a teacher, but worked for Kountze ISD for years, was given the maximum sentence allowable on all four charges.
The trial began Monday morning in 356th District Court before Judge Steve Thomas.
It took the jury about an hour of deliberation to find Hatton guilty and then about 20 minutes to deliberate following the punishment phase of the trial.
The abuse of the young girl started when she was 6-years-old and continued until she was 11 Moore said.
She made an outcry about the abuse to her father when she was 13 years-old.
"Hopefully there are no other victims that are afraid to speak out," Moore said.
"If so, please speak up. Tell someone. I will listen!"
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
CRIME STOPPERS | Submit a tip @ 833Tips.com
CRIME STOPPERS APP | Download the P3 Tips App
If you have information about a crime you could earn a cash reward of up to $1000 by providing an ANONYMOUS tip to Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.
Call 833-TIPS (8477) or download the P3Tips App on your mobile device to submit your tip anonymously.
