Kingsland man gets life without parole for sexual assault of child
Christopher Broadus
A Burnet County jury on Feb. 21 sentenced Christopher Broadus of Kingsland to life without parole for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Judge Evan Stubbs of the 424th Judicial Court pronounced the sentence. The case was prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Bill Price and Tiffany Clark. Nathan Kight and Sean Rogers represented the defendant.
Broadus received the maximum sentence because of a prior sexual assault conviction, according to a media release from District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee.
The victim, then 8 years old, reported the assault, which took place in Burnet County, to their family in 2020. In their testimony, the child told jurors they had originally hoped to keep the assault a secret because they were afraid no one would believe them due to Broadus being a close friend of the family. The victim’s older sibling testified that the defendant had also victimized them when they were in high school.
Jurors also heard from community partners at the Advocacy Center in Bryan as well as an expert from the local Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center, who educated them on the dynamics of grooming and its impact on delayed reporting from sexual abuse victims.
A former Arlington police department investigator testified about Broadus’ prior convention, which happened in the early 1990s.
In closing arguments, Assistant DA Clark reminded the jury that protecting children is a community effort and jurors had the opportunity to protect the victim in this case as well as any other child in the community from coming in contact with the defendant ever again.
Assistant DA Price reminded the jury that the victim’s trust had been broken by people closest to them. He asked the jurors to show the victim that they could trust the community and the criminal justice system to protect people and hold sex offenders accountable.
DA McAfee praised the collaborative effort of law enforcement and community partners across Texas.
“Thanks to the diligence of the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office, Milam County Sheriff’s Office, Scotty’s House in Bryan, and our local Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center, this defendant will never again be able to put his hands on another child,” McAfee said. “Our community is a safer place because of their commitment to this work.”