Man gets 45 years for indecency

Defendant sentenced for several encounters with a young girl

Donald Coleman
Donald Coleman

NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Texarkana, Texas, man was sentenced Thursday to 45 years in a Texas prison for several counts of sexual indecency involving a child.

Donald Ray Coleman, 34, was convicted by a Bowie County jury Wednesday evening of three counts of indecency with a child by contact involving a girl who was 12 and 14 years old when Coleman groped her at her mother's Texarkana, Texas, home in 2014 and 2016. The jury of eight women and four men assessed terms of 20, 15 and 10 years, which 5th District Judge Bill Miller ordered to run consecutively at the request of Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards.

During the punishment phase of Coleman's trial Thursday, the jury heard testimony from the victim's now 20-year-old sister who alleges Coleman sexually assaulted her over a period of years beginning when she was 11. An indictment accusing Coleman of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sexual indecency with a child by contact involving the older sister was handed down by a Bowie County grand jury in December and remains pending. The older sister had a difficult time on the witness stand when questioned about the alleged abuse by Richards.

"She is going to have to live with those memories for the rest of her life," Richards said in closing arguments. "She can barely speak of it."

Both Richards and Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp lamented that while the allegations of sexual misconduct by Coleman were brought to authorities as early as 2010, a criminal case against Coleman wasn't filed until last year.

"For so long he's been thinking he's getting away with it," Richards argued. "But those days are over."

Coleman's lawyer, Bowie County Public Defender Chad Crowl, called several witnesses-Coleman's sister, mother and pastor-to testify about his client's work ethic and charitable character.

"I called some witnesses, not to guilt you or shame you for your verdict. My purpose was to show you that when involved in case like this, a serious case involving children, it is understandable to develop tunnel vision," Crowl argued. "The only thing you know about the man is the worst thing they've ever doneWe're all more than the worst thing we've ever done."

Crisp countered in her closing that Coleman abuses children despite the love and support he enjoys from his family and his church. Crisp told the jury that justice for Coleman won't necessarily bring happiness.

"I am often asked, 'Did y'all win?' at the end of a case," Crisp said. "Nobody won here today. We've all lost. And what those children have lost can never be returned to them."

Richards praised the jurors who considered Coleman's case.

"Justice was a long time coming for Donald Coleman's victims but was finally served today (Thursday)," Richards said. "Thanks to the jury's careful deliberations in this difficult case, he has been removed from our community and won't be able to victimize any more children."

 

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