NEW BOSTON, Texas-A man charged in connection with an investigation into human trafficking was sentenced Thursday to a total 160 years in prison for his misconduct last year with a 12-year-old girl.
Charles Edward Garton, 40, received 80-year sentences from a jury Thursday on each of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively by 102nd District Judge Jeff Addison, making Garton's total sentence 160 years.
Known as Bodie, Garton lived for 13 years in a New Boston residence on Meadow Drive owned by John Littleton. Littleton, 71, died before he could be tried on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and human trafficking involving the exchange of drugs for sex with young girls. A third man, Kenneth Nelson, 65, was found guilty by a jury last year of multiple counts of human trafficking and is serving life in prison.
One of Littleton's alleged victims is the mother of the victim Garton was found guilty of violating. Littleton allegedly began molesting the mother when she was an 11-year-old and recordings of Littleton sexually assaulting her at age 12 were discovered in his home. Garton's victim and her older sister came to live with Littleton when their grandparents-who were friends of Littleton's-became ill and could no longer care for them.
At trial witnesses with the Texas Department of Public Safety testified that they interviewed Garton the same day, April 24, 2018, they executed a search warrant on Littleton's house. DPS investigators testified that the house was filthy and that the space was fouled with the stench and presence of human and animal feces.
Despite failing a polygraph and confessing in detail to the sexual misconduct to multiple DPS agents, Garton refused to accept a plea deal for 30 years. Garton's defense lawyer, Bart Craytor of Texarkana, argued the confessions were coerced and that Garton was a wrongly-accused father figure.
The jury quickly rejected that argument Wednesday with the return of a guilty verdict after about 30 minutes of deliberation.
On Thursday morning, the jury heard testimony concerning the punishment Garton should receive in the range of five to 99 years or life in prison for his abuse of the 12-year-old and heard testimony concerning his indifference to the activities of his longtime friend and roommate.
"After this jury swiftly convicted Charles Garton of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, they heard evidence in the punishment trial that he was complicit in a child sex trafficking ring that lasted for over two decades," First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said.
"Law enforcement will likely never know the full extent of damage caused by Garton, his former roommate John Littleton, or their associate, Kenneth Nelson.
"What we do know is that those individuals sexually abused minors, and, in most cases, provided the children with drugs or compelled them into prostitution. For over two years, the Texas Department of Public Safety, under the direction of lead agent Briscoe Davis, worked tirelessly conducting surveillance, interviewing witnesses and gathering the evidence necessary to successfully prosecute these sexual predators," Crisp said.
"Because Judge Addison granted the state's motion to cumulate, the resulting prison sentence of 160 years accurately captures the horror of this case and reinforces an absolute intolerance in Bowie County for those who harm our children," she said.
Should Garton ever be released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.