A New Boston man sat looking down as he heard tear-filled victim impact statements following a twoday trial in which a jury delivered the maximum sentence allowable for sexual relations with a minor.
Jashun Riley, 33, was convicted Thursday of three counts of sexual assault of a child dating back to 2022 and 2023. The jury sentenced him to 20 years and a $10,000 fine for each offense.
Fifth District Court Judge Bill Miller ordered the charges to be stacked and the sentences to run consecutively.
Two victims testified before the court by name but were referred to by aliases in the probable cause affidavits and grand jury indictments because of their ages at the time of the offenses.
Riley’s conviction was for three separate incidents against one of the victims, “Tiffany Jones,” when she was 15- and 16-years-old and Riley was 30. Charges are still pending on the second victim.
“He took full advantage of a young girl and that’s not right. Your verdict which said guilty tells (“Tiffany”) everything she needs to know. All of the things that she went through, all of the suffering that she did, and all of the things she’s had to endure for the past three years, you gave her the justice she deserves,” Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter told the court.
When the sentence was read, “Tiffany” and the second alleged victim held hands for support.
At trial, “Tiffany,” now 19, told the jury how Riley first made contact with her through SnapChat when she was 15-years-old. Through SnapChat, she said, they continued discussions that soon led to their first meetup and sexual encounter in his white Ford pickup truck.
“He came to my house and parked down the street from where I live,” she told the jury. “We talked a little bit, and then we had sexual intercourse … He would often, like, roll the window down and stick a shirt in it and roll it back up so that nobody could see because of the street lights.”
After their first meeting, “Tiffany” told the jury they would meet daily or every other day until April 2023. She said Riley would bring her to his own home, a friend’s house, his mother’s house or the cemetery. He would also engage in sex with “Tiffany” inside his truck while parked near her home.
“Tiffany” described the contents inside each home and how she gained access into them.
She also testified that there were no set times for their encounters.
“Just whenever he was free. No specific times. He would just ask was I able to get out,” said “Tiffany”.
A redacted video was presented to the jury showing a sexual encounter between two individuals inside Riley’s home. The video did not show faces but was found on “Tiffany’s” phone after a forensic extraction by New Boston Police Department Investigator Rusty Hill.
“Tiffany” said Riley shot the video and sent it to her.
Jerl Palmore, Investigator with the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office, told the jury he was able to determine it was Riley in the video because of a tattoo on his left forearm which read “Khloe” that was visible in the video. The jury was shown a photo of Riley taken after he was arrested which showed his left forearm with the tattoo visible.
Tabitha Branch, Riley’s attorney, argued a Facebook page made by “Tiffany” had her age at 21. However, “Tiffany” stated she never corresponded with Riley through FaceBook.
Carter argued that the age depicted was irrelevant because the law states that sex between an adult and a minor is illegal.
“Tiffany’s” mother testified that she was made aware of a sexual relationship between her daughter and Riley when she received a text message from Riley’s wife, Kayla Riley, in April 2023.
Both the victim and her mother testified that “Tiffany” initially denied the relationship but later admitted to it.
“Tiffany” said she lied because she didn’t want Riley to get in trouble and she didn’t feel like they were doing anything wrong.
“I feel like my mind was played with in ways that I wouldn’t have seen then,” she said.
Savannah Quinn, a therapist with the Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center, testified on behalf of the state to the behaviors of child victims of sexual assault.
Quinn was not “Tiffany’s” therapist but was permitted to sit in the courtroom to observe “Tiffany’s” testimony to testify as a qualified expert.
“In my experience, the perpetrator is usually someone that the child knows or at least gets to know and trusts. And in this (“Tiffany’s”) situation, it’s kind of a term that we use called teen love where a teenager is under the belief that she is in a full relationship or in love with an adult … They don’t feel coerced. They don’t usually see themselves as a victim. They see themselves as just in a willing and consenting relationship even though they’re not at the age to consent,” Quinn said.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, Branch called Kayla Riley, Jacqueline Riley, and Jaleesa Riley- Holmes to testify to the character of Riley, the father of three children under 10.
At the conclusion of the trial, Riley was remanded to the custody of the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office to await transport to a Texas state prison.
Riley will be eligible for parole in 2055 at the age of 63.
