BREAKING: Man convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in case involving relative

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - BREAKING: A McLennan County jury found Damien Tyrone Adkison guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child in a case involving a relative who said he sexually assaulted her almost seven years ago then threatened to kill her if she reported the assault.

The jury also found Adkison guilty on one of two counts of indecency with a child by contact.

Jurors deliberated about four hours before reaching a verdict.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: A Waco teenager testified Monday that Damien Tyrone Adkison, her family member, sexually assaulted her almost seven years ago then threatened to kill her if she reported the assault.

Adkison, 35, is on trial in Waco’s 19th State District court on an aggravated sexual assault of a child charge and two counts of indecency with a child by contact.

Prosecutors Tara Avants and Wil Hix rested their case against Adkison Monday afternoon after calling the alleged victim, school, medical and state officials the girl reported the alleged abuse to and a forensic analyst who found Adkison’s DNA on the girl’s bed sheets.

The prosecutors and defense attorney Darren Obenoskey selected jury of nine women and three men to hear the case last week. However, icy weather conditions forced Judge Thomas West to postpone the trial because the courthouse was closed.

Obenoskey will present defense witnesses when the trial resumes Tuesday morning.

The young woman said Adkison came into her room when she was sleeping in April 2016 and sexually assaulted her while her younger sister slept in a bed in the same room. The woman, who was 11 at the time, reported the abuse to a school counselor, who alerted Child Protective Services and Waco police.

Under cross-examination from Obenoskey, the woman acknowledged that she recanted her allegations to an aunt the following year because she missed her sister and was not happy with her living arrangements. However, on re-direct from Avants, she reiterated that Adkison sexually assaulted her.

The alleged victim said some of Adkison’s family members tried to dissuade her from testifying against him.

Mickie Dye, a registered nurse who works as a sexual assault forensic examiner, told jurors that she saw tearing, redness, abrasions and other signs of sexual trauma during an exam of the girl the following day.

Adkison, who has denied the allegations, remains jailed. If convicted of aggravated sexual assault, Adkison faces from five to 99 years in prison and up to life in prison. Indecency with a child by contact is punishable by a prison term of from two to 20 years.

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