Prosecutor Cassie Graham addressed the jurors, emphasizing their crucial role as the sole barrier between a 45-year-old man convicted of sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl and potential future victims.
She argued that the evidence presented during the three-day trial demonstrated Deese’s inappropriate attraction to young girls, emphasizing that the community’s children would never be safe from him. She urged the jurors to impose a life sentence.
Following an approximately 45-minute deliberation, jurors presented their verdicts to the 140th District Court, resulting in three sentences that will ensure Deese remains incarcerated for a minimum of 75 years.
On that day, jurors spent approximately an hour in deliberation before coming back to the courtroom with a decision. They found Deese, who has been in custody at the Lubbock County Detention Center since November 18, 2021, guilty of two counts of aggravated assault against a child under the age of 6, as well as one count of indecency with a child through sexual contact.
Deese was confronted with a potential sentence ranging from 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the initial two counts, along with an additional two to 20 years for the final charge.
Deese received a sentence of 50 years for the first charge, 25 years for the second, and 10 years for the third.
District Judge Douglas Freitag approved the prosecutor’s request to impose consecutive sentences on Deese for the first two counts, indicating that he must complete one sentence before beginning the next.
Deese faces allegations originating from a 2020 investigation by local authorities, which was initiated following the removal of the girl and her younger brother by child protective services from Deese’s residence.
A CPS investigator informed the jurors that in July 2020, he was tasked with investigating possible child neglect following reports that the children in Deese’s residence were observed outside without supervision and unclothed. A recent report indicated that the girl had been seeking food from others, yet she did not seem to show signs of malnutrition.
Miguel Rodriguez reported that Deese and his spouse were not cooperative during his first visit and refused him entry to their residence.
He mentioned that he came back roughly two weeks later armed with a court order and examined the residence, which he described as being cluttered with garbage.
He remarked that the house was so overwhelmingly filled with the stench of trash and pet urine that he could barely tolerate being inside for more than two minutes.
He mentioned that he took the children and Deese’s wife to the CPS offices to talk about a suitable arrangement for the children.
Nonetheless, he mentioned that Deese subsequently showed up and departed with his spouse and the kids before an appropriate arrangement was established.
A month later, Deese and the children were discovered in Plainview, residing with a friend of Deese’s. The following day, the children were entrusted to a foster couple.
A foster parent recounted to the jurors that on the night the children arrived, the girl expressed comments suggesting she might have experienced sexual abuse.
A pediatrician who assessed the girl days afterward informed jurors that the girl disclosed alarming comments regarding sexual abuse by Deese.
Dr. Michal Pankratz informed jurors that the girl first recounted a “tickle game” with Deese, which included inappropriate touching.
However, she stated that the girl also recounted Deese compelling her to engage in a sexual act with him.
Deese chose not to provide testimony throughout the trial. During the proceedings, jurors viewed an interview featuring a Texas Department of Public Safety Special Agent, in which the individual expressed his belief that the girl’s cries were a result of having seen an animated pornographic video that he and his wife used to enhance their intimacy.
The prosecutor emphasized to the jurors that the girl’s reliability is backed by the testimonies presented during the trial, where witnesses recounted how the girl articulated the abuse she suffered in a manner typical of children.