Jury selection set to begin in sex abuse trial

Todd Stephen Peck
Todd Stephen Peck

NEW BOSTON, Texas-Jury selection is expected to begin this morning at the Bowie County Courthouse in for a man accused of continuous sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.

At least five other women who have accused Todd Stephen Peck of molesting them in varying jurisdictions over the last 20 years are expected to testify. Peck, 51, faces a minimum sentence of 25 years if found guilty.

The process of a choosing 12 Bowie County citizens to decide Peck's fate is scheduled to begin Tuesday before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp is leading the prosecution and Peck is represented by Deborah Moore of the Bowie County Public Defenders Office.

Peck came to the attention of law enforcement in April 2017, according to a probable-cause affidavit used to create the following account.

The older sister of the alleged victim named in Peck's indictment contacted the Bowie County Sheriff's Office in April 2017. The older sister reported she had been sexually abused by Peck from age 9 to 13 or 14 when she lived with Peck and his wife in Harris and Montgomery counties in Texas. The girls' mother signed guardianship of the older sister over to Peck when the sister was about 9.

The older sister expressed concern that her younger sister was being sexually abused by Peck as well. At the time, Peck and the girl both lived in Bowie County. The alleged victim was interviewed April 18, 2017, at the Children's Advocacy Center in Texarkana. The girl denied being sexually abused during that interview, though she did state that she and Peck slept in the same bed.

In November 2017, the girl, 13, made an outcry of sexual abuse against Peck to a counselor at her middle school. The girl told a forensic interviewer at the CAC in November that Peck began sexually molesting her when she was 9.

Peck faces 25 to 99 years or life if found guilty of the continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. The trial is expected to take several days.

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