A Maud woman behind bars for sexually assaulting two children was indicted by a grand jury with enhanced charges for the younger of the children.
Brandy Attaway, 47, was indicted on two charges of super aggravated and one charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child for allegedly abusing a 7-yearold girl and 12-year-old boy, respectively.
Super aggravated sexual assault of a child can be charged for alleged offenses that involve the intentional penetration of a child victim under 6-years-old or 14-years-old or younger when the alleged offender has a prior conviction or the abuse is ongoing.
The charges were enhanced in the case of the girl because of her age and alleged continuous abuse for more than two months, according to the indictment.
Attaway faces a minimum of 25 years or life without parole in a Texas prison on each charge if convicted of super aggravated sexual assault and five to 99 years for the aggravated charge. Conviction would also require a lifetime registration as a sex offender.
The case is being heard by 202nd District Judge John Tidwell with Bowie County District Attorney-elect Kelley Crisp replithium resenting the state. Attaway is represented by the Bowie County Public Defender’s Office.
Attaway was arrested in February According to the probable cause affidavit, Attaway forcibly performed sexual acts on the children while they were in her care.
The children allege Attaway forcibly assaulted them and on occasions made them watch as she assaulted their sibling.
She allegedly told the children not to say anything to anyone about the abuse or she would “get into big trouble and will go to jail,” the affidavit said. Attaway also allegedly threatened to kill herself or a family member if the children did not submit to the abuse.
Attaway is still being held at the Bi-State Justice Center jail on a $500,000 bond.
The law that increased punishment for child sex offenders was Texas’ Jessica’s Law, passed in 2007 by then-Governor Rick Perry. Repeated offenders of aggravated or continuous sexual assault of a child could be tried as capital offenses eligible for the death penalty.
Jessica’s Law also removed the statute of limitations for sex crimes against victims under the age of 17 and increased the statute for crimes of burglary and kidnapping for the purpose of sexual abuse to 20 years after the child victim’s 18th birthday.
Crimes Jessica’s Law applies to are: sexual assault of a child, sexual performance by a child, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child by contact and indecency with a child by exposure.
Jessica’s Law was named for Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida resident, who was kidnapped, raped and killed after she was taken from her Homosassa, Florida, home by John Couey in February 2005. Couey was a convicted sex offender who lived near the Lunsford home. He was sentenced to death for burglary, kidnapping, sexual battery and first-degree murder.
The first Jessica’s Law was created in Florida in 2005 and similar laws have been passed in more than 30 states nationwide.
