HITCHCOCK (TX)
The Daily News
By Scott E. Williams
The Daily News
Published July 9, 2005
HITCHCOCK — Any church services Jonathan Tyrone Anderson attends in the next several years will be in a prison chapel.
Jurors in the 405th State District Court found Anderson, a Texas City resident and associate pastor at Faith Community Church, guilty of molesting two girls from 2000 to 2002. The verdict came shortly after 2 p.m. Friday.
Anderson’s wife sobbed as defense attorney Ray Castro asked visiting Judge Henry Dalehite to poll each juror to confirm the verdict.
The victims, ages 15 and 17, are sisters. About three hours after the guilty verdict, the jury sentenced Anderson to 15 years in prison for each of the two indecency charges. The sentences run concurrently.
Anderson denied ever touching either child, but prosecutor Mo Ibrahim told jurors in closing arguments Friday morning that they had no reason to lie. He noted that the girls did not tell their mother about the abuse until 2003, a year after the family had moved to Dallas.