NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Bowie County jury handed down a life sentence Thursday for a man convicted Wednesday of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Randal Lee Wright, 57, was found guilty of sexually assaulting an intellectually disabled girl who was spending the night at his house with a friend Sept. 20, 2015. Both girls testified during Wright's trial this week before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
"This depraved sex offender devastated the lives of two young girls who had the courage to come forward and provide powerful testimony in court," First Assistant District Attorney Michael Shepherd said. "The fact that the victims had learning disabilities compounds the heinous nature of his criminal behavior."
Shepherd was aided in his prosecution of Wright by Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter. Carter said Wright must serve 30 years of his life sentence before he can be considered for parole.
Wright was represented by Texarkana lawyers Kristian Young and Danny Cook.
The allegations surfaced when the parents of a 12-year-old girl reported to Texarkana, Texas, Police that Wright raped their daughter during a sleepover with a 15-year-old friend who is related to him, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. The girl revealed that Wright's relative told her she had also been sexually assaulted by Wright.
Both girls were interviewed by staff at the Children's Advocacy Center in Texarkana.
The younger girl said Wright was drunk when he forced himself on her in his bedroom. She told a forensic interviewer that Wright was drinking whiskey when he became enraged and began throwing things at them. She said Wright asked the girls to play "quarters" and provided them with alcohol.
Wright was first charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child in two indictments handed down in December 2015. A third indictment accusing him of the continuous sexual abuse of a minor female relative was handed down in December 2016 and remains pending.
Continuous sexual abuse of a child is punishable by 25 years to 99 years or life in prison.