GALVESTON – Today, a jury sentenced Hitchcock native, Justin Douglas Holt, 28, to forty years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for sexually assaulting a thirteen year old.

Holt was indicted on a charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child from an incident taking place on the night of Christmas in 2015. The offense carried a punishment range of 5 to 99 years, or life. On December 11, 2017, Holt’s jury trial began

Prosecutors Adam Poole and Leslie Rebescher presented evidence and testimony in the week-long trial of Holt. Witnesses included the victim, who was 13 years old at the time of the offense, an officer from the Hitchcock Police Department, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, mother of the victim, and two DNA analysts from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The evidence at trial showed during the late hours between December 25th and 26th, the teenage victim was babysitting for Holt. The minor victim testified that she had fallen asleep at Holt’s house and was awoken to him touching her and eventually sexually assaulting her. When Holt got up to go to the bathroom, the victim immediately ran across the street to tell her mother and father what took place. An altercation between Holt and the victim’s father followed and law enforcement was called to the home.

Jurors learned that the morning after the assault, the victim went to the hospital for a SANE exam. The nurse testified that the victim suffered an injury from the assault which would be consistent with being penetrated. Additionally, DPS analysts testified that Holt’s DNA was found on the victim’s underwear and on her body.  

After three days of testimony in the guilt and innocence phase, the jury retired to deliberate. Approximately an hour and a half later they returned with their verdict finding Holt guilty of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. The punishment phase immediately followed. After hearing the evidence and deliberating for several hours on Thursday and Friday, the jury returned Friday morning and sentenced Holt to 40 years in prison. Holt will have to serve at least half of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

Holt was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Adam Poole and Leslie Rebescher in the 405th District Court, with Judge Michelle Slaughter presiding. The criminal investigation was conducted by the Hitchcock Police Department.