By Phillip Williams
A jury in Gilmer sentenced Matthew Callie McCoy to a collective total of 125 years in prison recently after convicting him of eight counts of indecency with a child under the age of 14, said Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd.
McCoy, 48, of Gilmer, was convicted and sentenced Aug. 10 in 115th District Court, Byrd said in a news release. The prosecutor disclosed neither the child’s name nor gender for its protection, saying the youngster was related to the defendant.
Judge Dean Fowler “stacked the sentences in the first four counts,” meaning McCoy won’t be eligible for parole until he is in his early eighties since the crimes were “an aggravated offense under the law,” the prosecutor wrote.
The child, who had just turned 10 years old, “made an outcry of abuse” to its mother Sept. 12, 2018, and the offenses were alleged to have occurred on different dates, he added.
The child testified at trial that it had been “physically abused, and threatened to be killed if they told,” wrote Byrd, who prosecuted the case.
The youngster had told its mother it was “afraid of the family member because he had been abusing them by touching their private area,” he added. The mother went to Gilmer police, who investigated the case.
She, a counselor, and other witnesses who “helped to corroborate the child’s statement” testified for the prosecution at trial, said Byrd. McCoy, represented by Longview attorney Brandt Thorson, used the defense he did not commit the alleged acts, the district attorney added.
Jurors deliberated an hour and a half on the verdict and an hour on the sentence, said Byrd, who said he requested the maximum sentence while the defense sought the minimum term of two years. McCoy had moved here from Sulphur, La., Byrd noted.
“We are extremely thankful to our citizens that served on the jury, and worked hard to see justice was done,” the prosecutor wrote.