Waco teenager testifies she was sexually assaulted years ago and threatened to kill her if she sought help

WACO, TX (KWTX) – A Waco teenager testified Monday that Damien Tyrone Adkison, a family member, sexually assaulted her about seven years ago and then threatened to kill her if she reported the assault.

Adkison, 35, is on trial in Waco’s 19th District Court on one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact.

Prosecutors Tara Avants and Will Hicks announced their case against Adkison after calling the alleged victim, the school, medical and state officials about the alleged abuse and a forensic analyst who found Adkison’s DNA on the girl’s sheets. gave

Prosecutors and defense attorney Darren Obenoskey selected a jury of nine women and three men to hear the case last week. But freezing weather conditions forced Judge Thomas West to postpone the hearing because the courthouse was closed.

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

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

Under questioning from Obenoskey, this woman admitted that she gave up her aunt’s claims the following year because she missed her sister and was not satisfied with her living conditions. However, when she returned from Avants, she repeated that Adkison had assaulted her.

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

Micky Dye, a registered nurse who works as a forensic sex-assault examiner, told jurors that she saw tears, redness, swelling and other signs of sexual trauma the next day when she examined the girl.

Adkison, who has denied the charges, remains in prison. If convicted of aggravated sexual assault, Adkison faces 5 to 99 years and up to life in prison. Indecency with a child is punishable by imprisonment from two to 20 years.

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