West woman who had sex with man in front of girl found guilty
Girl testified she was invited into relative’s bedroom to watch him have sex with woman, asked to take lewd photos involving sex toys
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A West woman who had sex with her boyfriend multiple times as his young family member watched and videoed their sexual encounters was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday.
Jurors in Waco’s 19th State District Court recommended that Judge Thomas West sentence Cristina Marie Marsh, 28, to four years in prison on each of the four counts of indecency with a child by exposure for which they convicted her earlier Wednesday.
Prosecutors Liz Buice and Jessica Washington asked West to stack the sentences, or to order them to run consecutively instead of concurrently, over the objection of defense attorney Jason P. Darling.
West stacked the fourth count onto the first three concurrent counts, for a total of eight years in prison. Marsh, the mother of two young children who were removed from her custody because of neglectful supervision, must serve at least four years before she is eligible for parole.
“We are so proud of the victim for her courage to tell the truth in spite of tremendous pressure,” Buice said. “We hope the jury’s verdict gives her closure to this chapter in her life and helps in her journey to healing.”
Darling said he appreciates the work the jury put into the case.
“We are pleased they found her not guilty on one of the counts,” Darling said. “We also appreciate they gave her a sentence that wasn’t the maximum. She is ready to get this behind her so she can get back to her two children.”
Marsh faced a maximum of 10 years in prison on each count. She was not eligible for probation because of the age of the victim at the time of the offenses. Marsh’s live-in boyfriend, Joshua David Orler, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the same allegations after a 19th State District Court jury convicted him on 10 counts of indecency with a child by exposure in May 2022.
The girl, who is now 15, described in graphic detail how she stumbled upon Marsh and Orler having sex when she was 11 after she woke up to go to the bathroom at Orler’s Harrison Street home in West. She also testified that that accidental encounter led to Orler later inviting her into the bedroom to watch him have sex with Marsh and to video their lovemaking and take nude photos of Marsh posing with sex toys.
She told jurors she witnessed them have sex at least 15 to 20 times, describing for the jury the “Hello Kitty” tattoo Orler has on his genitalia that she asked him about.
The girl testified again in the punishment phase of the trial, telling jurors that she still has “very bad nightmares” about what she witnessed and said she is scared and untrusting of people now. She also talked about the schism the situation has caused between members of her extended family.
She testified Tuesday she had a close relationship with Marsh and considered her like a sister. She said both Orler and Marsh told her not to tell anyone what she saw, but added that the stress of the situation caused her to act out at school and to mistreat her siblings.
She said she finally told her mother after overhearing her and her husband arguing about the change in her behavior.
The girl’s mother testified Tuesday that her daughter’s behavior changed dramatically in the fall of 2020. She finally told her what had been happening at Orler’s home, and they called West police.
“After she told me, she was relieved,” she said. “She could smile again. She still had nightmares and she was still scared about what was going to happen to everybody, but she was relieved and felt better.”
In guilt-innocence jury summations, Darling questioned the thoroughness of the West police investigation, telling the jury that the “horrible, two-day investigation” wouldn’t match up to what bumbling Mayberry police officer Barney Fife of “The Andy Griffith Show” would have done.
He questioned why the girl continued to return to Orler’s home if she was so traumatized by what she saw there.
Buice countered that Darling’s argument reminded her of the song “Razzle Dazzle” from the musical “Chicago” in which an attorney played by Richard Gere asks, “How can they hear the truth above the roar.”
“Literally, every word Mr. Darling just said was Razzle Dazzle,” Buice said.
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A 15-year-old girl testified Tuesday that her family member invited her into his bedroom to watch him have sex with his girlfriend in 2020 and asked her to take nude photos of the woman posing with sex toys.
The girl told jurors she was conflicted about reporting the sexual abuse because she didn’t want to get her relative, Joshua David Orler, or his girlfriend, Cristina Marie Marsh, in trouble.
The girl, who was 11 at the time, testified during the second day of Marsh’s trial in Waco’s 19th State District Court. Marsh, 28, is charged with five counts of indecency with a child by exposure, third-degree felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each count.
The girl was escorted into the courtroom by 10 members of the Waco and Brazos Valley chapters of Bikers Against Child Abuse, a motorcycle club that supports children who have been abused.
About 15 minutes into the girl’s testimony, she became emotional and asked for a break. Judge Thomas West allowed her to leave the courtroom for a few minutes, and three BACA members, who had been seated in the back of the courtroom, followed her outside.
When they returned, the three members took seats on the front row of the courtroom, effectively blocking the girl’s view of Marsh’s mother, who sat on the second row during Tuesday’s proceedings. The club members wore their motorcycle vests into the courthouse but removed them before entering the courtroom.
Prosecutors Jessica Washington and Liz Buice rested their case against Marsh Tuesday afternoon after showing jurors graphic photos of Orler and Marsh performing sex acts, Marsh posing nude on a bed at the home in West she shared with Orler and photos of a tattoo of the children’s character “Hello Kitty” on Orler’s genitalia.
Orler was sentenced to 20 years in prison in May 2022 after a 19th State District Court jury convicted him on 10 counts of indecency with a child by exposure.
The girl, who lives with her mother, said she routinely visited Orler at a home on Harrison Street in West and then at the home he shared with Marsh on Marable Street. She said she watched them in sexual encounters 15 to 20 times in 2020, including the first time when she accidentally saw them having sex when she woke up one night to go to the bathroom.
She said Orler and Marsh knew she was watching them the first time. Later, she said, Orler invited her into their bedroom to watch and told her the names of the various sexual positions they engaged in.
“I felt like I didn’t know if it was right or wrong at the time,” she said. “I didn’t know, I just did it.”
She said Orler showed her the “Hello Kitty” tattoo on his genitalia after she noticed it and asked him about it. She said Orter also asked her to video their sexual encounters and to take nude photos of Marsh.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney, Jason P. Darling, the girl said she had a close relationship with Marsh and considered her like a sister. She said both Orler and Marsh told her not to tell anyone what she saw, but added that the stress of the situation caused her to act out at school and to treat her siblings poorly.
She said she finally told her mother after overhearing her and her husband arguing about the change in her behavior.
The girl’s mother testified Tuesday that her daughter’s behavior changed dramatically in the fall of 2020. She finally told her in graphic detail about what had been happening at Orler’s home, adding that she notified West police about the allegations.
“After she told me, she was relieved,” she said. “She could smile again. She still had nightmares and she was still scared about what was going to happen to everybody, but she was relieved and felt better.”
In other prosecution testimony, Angela Moore, a supervisor with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said her agency launched an investigation into the allegations and found “reason to believe” the sexual abuse allegations against Orler and Marsh. She also said the department found that Marsh was neglectful in its supervision of her two younger children and they were removed from her home and placed in foster care.
Defense testimony is set to begin Wednesday morning.
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