A southeast Texas man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a Collin County jury found him guilty of continuously sexually abusing a child for over several years in North Texas.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis announced Tuesday that Donald Byron Joachim, 65, of Rosenberg, was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child for crimes committed while he was in Celina from 2017 to 2020.
“For too long, this predator exploited trust within families to abuse multiple children across years and locations. Today’s life-without-parole sentence sends a clear message that Collin County will relentlessly pursue justice and safeguard our children,” Willis said in the news release after sentencing.
Prosecutors said Joachim had access to the victim through a relationship with the child’s family and began abusing her when she was a toddler, which continued until she was 13. The abuse was reported after the victim disclosed it to a family member at age 14, prompting an investigation that included interviews at a children’s advocacy center.
Crime in The News
Authorities said the abuse also occurred in Canyon Lake and Austin. During the investigation, multiple other individuals reported that Joachim had abused them in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
After hearing the evidence, a jury found Joachim guilty. Under Texas law, a conviction for continuous sexual abuse of a child carries an automatic sentence of life without parole. Judge Tom Nowak presided over the trial.
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