Longview man sentenced to 100 years after sexually abusing child

LONGVIEW – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Longview man was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being found guilty for multiple counts of sexual abuse to a child.

According to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office, on Thursday Justin Eugene Howard was sentenced to 80 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child to run consecutively with a 20 year sentence for sexual assault of a child followed by 10 years of probation for indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Officials said that Howard’s convictions come from his continuous sexual abuse of a girl that began back in 2008, when the child was 6-years-old and it continued through 2020. The testimony at trial showed that Howard committed several sexual offenses against the child from 2008 to 2020.

“Because of the level of control his heinous acts had on the child, she did not report his crimes immediately but was able to bravely come forward once she became an adult and courageously spoke out,” the DA’s office said. “The survivor gave emotional impact statements following sentencing.”

The DA’s office said they would like to thank the Longview Police Department Detective Debra Stiles for her work in the case since verdicts like this wouldn’t be possible without her time and effort.