BEAUMONT, Texas — A 34-year-old Port Arthur man has been sentenced to 75 years after being found guilty of aggravated assault Wednesday for shooting a girl under 14 after she resisted his sexual advances.
Timothy Harris, 34, of Port Arthur, will have to serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole because Judge John Stevens stipulated earlier he must serve half or 30 years.
In closing arguments defense attorney Joel Vazquez told the jury there’s a lot packed into this punishment phase.
“What I’m concerned about is the sex crime, continuous sexual abuse of a young child. That needs to be proven to you beyond a reasonable doubt when you assess punishment," He told the jury.
Vazquez told the jury there has not been a trial for the continuous sexual abuse charge. Harris is not on trial for that charge, but he objects to it being considered in punishment since he did not go to trial for it, he has only been indicted for it.
Vazquez said what the jury found Harris guilty of is aggravated assault. He said other claims have not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutor Jimmy Hamm started his closing arguments by telling the jury they were told about the sexual assault so they would know the rest of the story.
“I knew before you guys got started that Mr. Harris’ choices have been impacting this child,” he said.
He told the jury the assault happened when the child decided that she did not want a sexual assault to happen again. He told the jury he knew the evidence of the aggravated assault would be overwhelming. But he said the victim was still being victimized by Mr. Harris.
Ham told the jury that Harris testified that he was under the influence, but asked them if he looked like he was intoxicated in the video of him during his arrest.
Jury selection began Monday before Judge Stevens in Jefferson County's Criminal District Court in the aggravated assault trial of Harris who is accused of shooting the girl when she resisted his sexual advances.
He allegedly tried to assault the girl again and became angry when she resisted. That's when police say he shot her at Sunset Way Apartments in Port Arthur.
He could face a possible life sentence if found guilty.
Opening statements
In opening statements on Tuesday, Hamm told the jurors they will hear the defense bring up intoxication. Hamm then explained to jurors that being voluntarily intoxicated is not a legal defense.
He then noted that the victim was 13 when Harris allegedly shot her and then told them about the alleged sexual abuse, but Vazquez objected claiming the abuse charge had nothing to do with the aggravated assault charge.
Hamm countered that the sexual abuse charge is relevant because it's related to motive. Judge Stevens agreed and overruled Vazquez's objection, reminding jurors that opening statements do not constitute evidence.
The prosecutor then went on to say that, when the girl felt Harris was trying to sexually assault her again, she struggled with him. During that struggle Harris fired six shots with one striking her, Hamm alleged.
Vazquez, in his opening, immediately began referring back to his objection of the mention of the continuous sexual assault charge, explaining to the jury that no lawyer wants to interrupt another lawyer in opening statements.
“But once you hear something like that, the sexual element, that’s not in the indictment, you cannot unhear it," he told them.
Vazquez told the jury he objected because he worried that when jurors hear such things they could form the opinion that the defendant is guilty because they heard that "sex thing."
Judge Stephens then stopped Vazquez telling him that it was not the time to make arguments.
“This is opening statements to allow the jury to understand your theory of the case," Stephens said. "This is not the time for argument."
Vasquez then asked the jury to stick to the points of the indictment that are proven to them.
Testimony in the case began immediately after opening statements with the state calling its first witness.
Background
Harris was also indicted for continuous sexual abuse of the girl, but he is only being tried for the shooting. It is unclear if, or when, he will be tried on the continuous sexual assault charge.
He was indicted on the continuous sexual abuse charge in 2020 after he had been allegedly abusing her for several years.
She told investigators Harris had sexually abused her for nearly four years starting when she was about 9-years-old , according to court documents.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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