HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man was sentenced Wednesday afternoon to life in prison having been convicted earlier in the day for continuous sexual abuse of a child, victim under the age of 14.
HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man was sentenced Wednesday afternoon to life in prison having been convicted earlier in the day for continuous sexual abuse of a child, victim under the age of 14.
73-year-old Alan Frederick Bearden was initially arrested in the case on May 10, 2019, and charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Investigators had served a search warrant on Bearden's Heartland home in the 4000 block of Houston Drive on May 8, 2019. There investigators seized electronic devices, including an Apple iPhone 6S, an Apple tablet, and a Samsung tablet.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit on one of the initial charges, one of Bearden's victims told a forensic interviewer at the Kaufman County Children's Advocacy Center the abuse had been ongoing since she was in the 4th or 5th grade, more than 25 times, up until early 2019.
The affidavit and court testimony also revealed, Bearden had been observed by a police officer inappropriately touching one of his victims while they walked around Town East Mall. The victim later told her father Bearden had given her an Apple iWatch to communicate with her because he had became scared to text her after the Town East Mall incident.
That victim, according to the affidavit and testimony presented during trial before 86th District Court Judge Casey Blair, also alleges there were other victims known to her that Bearden "touched."
Bearden was released the day after his May arrest after posting a $50,000 bon was again arrested on October 7, 2019, and was charged with two more counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and one count of sex abuse of a child continuous, victim under 14. He posted $250,000 bail on the second arrest and was released on October 18, 2019.
Upon further investigation, Bearden was arrested on February 14, 2020, and charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. This time, he was released four days later after posting $1 million in bonds.
On June 1, 2022, Bearden was arrested a final time and was charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact. He was released the following day after posting a $50,000 bond.
According to Kaufman County court records, a grand jury returned five indictments in the case — two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of continuous sex abuse of a child under the age of 14, and one count of indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Trial in the matter began Monday, October 17, 2022, and concluded today with the jury's finding of guilty on one count of continuous sex abuse of a child under the age of 14. After brief deliberations, the jury returned a sentence of life in prison. By law, defendants convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child are not eligible for parole.
"During the three day trial, the jury heard from two of Mr. Bearden's victims, law enforcement witnesses, a neighbor who witnessed concerning behavior, and child abuse experts," according to the Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney's Office. "The jury returned a swift guilty verdict on the charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and assess punishment at life."
"This was a clear case of 'see something, say something,' and the jury sent the message that abuse of children in our community will not be tolerated," District Attorney Erleigh Wiley tells inForney.com.