(RICHMOND) – A Missouri City man has been sentenced by a Fort Bend County jury to 50 years in prison after he was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a young child. The sentence was handed down after an hour of deliberation. Eric Norman Stewart, 66, will serve his sentence day for day under Texas law.
Evidence presented by prosecutors Alycia Curtis and Craig Priesmeyer revealed that Stewart, a former employee of the Department of Family and Protective Services, established a group home at his residence in Missouri City, fostering and adopting several children. The jury heard evidence that Stewart sexually abused both a nine and twelve-year-old girl in his home for a period of more than two years starting in 2016.
Lead prosecutor Alycia Curtis said, “All children deserve to feel safe in their homes. This defendant betrayed his role as both a father, and as an employee within Children’s Protective Services, an agency designed to keep kids safe. I’m grateful for this jury’s hard work and their verdict. As a voice for our community, the jury made it clear that there are severe consequences for those who abuse our most vulnerable.”
“The victims’ courage was not only heard, but felt, by everyone in the courtroom,” said Prosecutor Craig Priesmeyer. “Despite the defendant’s attempt to discredit their powerful accounts of repeated sexual abuse, the jury saw through his lies and told him so by their verdict.”
Curtis and Priesmeyer commended Detective Lisa Yates-Porrovecchio, with the Missouri City Police Department, for her thorough investigation of this case. They also expressed their gratitude to Child Advocates of Fort Bend for their forensic interview program and therapy services that the agency provides to children and families.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child, but no one is more important than a parent or guardian,” said District Attorney Brian Middleton. “And when that person betrays their child, the village will rise up to protect the child and punish the abuser. I am proud of my prosecutors; of law enforcement; and most importantly, these children; to hold the defendant accountable.”
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