BEAUMONT, Texas — A Port Arthur man will spend the next two decades in prison after he was found guilty of two sex crimes against a child.
Jonathon Davis was convicted Wednesday of sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
A Jefferson County jury decided the punishment of the Port Arthur man on Thursday.
Davis was sentenced to 15 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child and five years in prison for indecency with a child. The sentences will run consecutively, meaning Davis will serve a total of 20 years behind bars.
Davis could have been ordered to pay a $10,000 fine in each case. The jury did not impose a fine in either case. He will have to register as a sex offender.
Testimony in his trial began Tuesday before Judge Raquel West.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, defense attorney Marvin Lewis Jr. told jury members to reflect on the eight witnesses who testified. He said it's unfortunate that none of them had first-hand knowledge of the events.
"They were not around when the allegations happened, but at some point, they got news of the allegations," Lewis said.
He also spoke of the child's family allowing the suspect near the child after the allegations were made.
Prosecutor Tatiana Zelezniak started her closing arguments by saying the young girl could not be in court Wednesday because she could not stand to be in the same room as the defendant.
She told the jury if the state proves every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, then they must find the defendant guilty.
"Do not let the defense confuse you about what those elements are," Zelezniak said.
She responded to the idea that there were no red flags noticed by adults in the child's life.
"Predators count on parents not seeing red flags," she said.
On Tuesday, Zelezniak began opening statements by telling the jury the victim's family had waited a long time for this day to come.
12News is not releasing the name or age of the victim to protect her identity.
Police, a representative of the Garth House and some of the victim’s family will also testify, according to Zelezniak.
Defense Attorney Marvin Lewis Jr encouraged the jury to look closely at the evidence that would be presented and consider family issues that would be brought up to determine if the allegations against David were credible.
Lewis said once the jury looked at the evidence, they would see his client is not guilty.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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