Jury convicts child molester

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

A Caldwell County jury took less than four hours to convict a Luling man of molesting a 15-year-old girl last year.
Jerry Raymond Graham, 35, was found guilty of two counts of Sexual Assault and two counts of Indecency with a Child after a three-day trial last week.
Graham”s stepdaughter accused him of sexually ass

aulting her on two different occasions in 2004. According to Assistant District Attorney Whitney Weideman, the girl made an outcry statement indicating that Graham had come into her room twice while she was sleeping and performed indecent acts.
When the girl reported the abuse to her mother, Weideman said, the woman was concerned that she was not telling the truth.
“Mom said that she”d made an outcry before,” he said. “She told us that her daughter said she was abused by a cousin, and he had admitted to the offense. I”m not really sure how that led her to believe that her daughter might be lying about the abuse this time.”
Both the victim and her younger sister were removed from the home, and their mother is now under indictment for Endangering a Child.
According to Weideman, Graham was convicted for sexually assaulting a child in Amarillo several years ago, and served five years in prison for the offense. Graham was also ordered to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life. He also said that the victim”s mother was aware of that fact.
“There”s a warrant for him out of Washington for failure to register as a sex offender,” Weideman said. “But the aren”t planning to extradite on the charge now that he”s been convicted here.”
Weideman said the Caldwell County District Attorney”s Office will seek an enhancement on the charges of Sexual Assault. The enhancement carries with it a mandatory life sentence. Otherwise, Graham could face a sentence of a minimum of 35 years.
“We won”t have sentencing until next week,” Weideman said. “But there is almost no way that he could possibly [be considered for parole] until 2039.”
Weideman is pleased with the jury”s decision.
“We had a good jury, with 10 men and two women,” he said. “I don”t have any personal feelings about the case, but I am relieved that he won”t be able to do it again.”