Malone V. State

A Gregg County jury found William Charles Malone guilty of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and indecency with a child in connection with the sexual abuse of his daughter, J.M., age thirteen at the time of her outcry. The jury then recommended punishment of thirty years' confinement each for the offenses of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault, and twenty years' confinement for the conviction for indecency with a child. Having requested and heard statements of counsel regarding stacking of the three sentences, the trial court followed the jury's recommendations for sentencing and ordered that the sentences run consecutively. On appeal, Malone contends that the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony offered by the State, that the trial court erred by overruling his motion to suppress, that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the legality of the search that yielded certain items of evidence, and that the sentences imposed were disproportionate. We affirm.