Man gets life in prison for sexually abusing family member

RUSK COUNTY — An East Texas Man has been sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of sexually abusing a member of his family every week for 10 years. According to our news partner KETK, Daniel Alton Flanagan, 51 of Mount Enterprise, was first arrested by the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 2 after one of his family members revealed that he was sexually assaulting her once a week from when she was 13 to 22 years old, according to his arrest affidavit.

After his arrest, Flanagan was interviewed at the sheriff’s office and admitted to sexually assaulting the victim. Flanagan was then charged with two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14, prohibited sexual conduct, and sexual performance by a child under 14 years old.

Assistant Rusk County and District Attorney Tiffany T. Conner said a jury found Flanagan guilty in this case on Oct. 23. According to Conner, Flanagan has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or probation.

“On behalf of myself, this Office and the State of Texas, permit me to extend our heartfelt appreciation to those willing to serve on juries in these deeply disturbing cases,” Conner said. “Without their efforts our community would be a much more dangerous place. We are grateful to the jury for their sacrifice and careful attention. Their verdict ensures that the defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison, without the possibility of probation or parole. This sentence protects our community and honors the courage of the victims in coming forward after years of silence.”