Guilty Verdict in Child Sex Trial

TYLER — A defendant has been found guilty in Smith County of continuous sexual abuse of a child. According to the district attorney’s office, Thomas Baker, 38, requested that Judge Kerry Russell assess his sentence, and a sentencing hearing has been set for Sept. 18. The range of punishment is 25 years to life in prison with no possibility for parole. Prosecutors say the now 10-year-old victim testified about a pervasive pattern of sexual abuse beginning when she was 8 years old and continuing over a year and a half. It took the jury about an hour and a half to return the guilty verdict. Russell raised Baker’s bond to $600,000 pending the outcome of the sentencing hearing.