The five-man, seven-woman jury deliberated for about 30 minutes Thursday morning before finding Joe Richard Jasso guilty on all six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, each count a first degree felony offense punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The jury also convicted Jasso of one count of sexual assault, a second degree felony offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
District Court Judge Janna Whatley ordered Jasso to serve four of the life sentences concurrently — at the same time. After he has served that sentence, he is to serve his 20-year sentence. After that sentence, he is to serve another life sentence and once that sentence is served he will have to serve his sixth life sentence.
Jasso showed no emotion when he heard his fate but did tell Whatley he would appeal the six verdicts.
Jasso pleaded guilty to the count of sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors said Jasso had sex with a 15-year-old girl. Because of her age he was only charged with a second degree felony.
Jasso denied having sex with 14- and 13-year-old girls. Because they were not over 14 years old he was charged with aggravated sexual assault.
The girls testified that Jasso gave them alcohol and marijuana before having sex with them in 2004.
District Attorney Martha Warner, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the state, said the girls only came forward when one of them found out that Jasso had returned to Beeville.
Another girl came forward after hearing that Jasso had been indicted for having sex with the other middle school student, Warner said.
“Mr. Jasso preyed on young girls who were on the verge of dropping out of school, who lacked self-esteem, who thought he loved them,” Warner told jurors. “You don’t want this kind of predator in our community. You need to send a message to others like him that we will not tolerate 22-year-old men giving 13- and 14-year-old girls alcohol and marijuana and then having sex with them.”
The girls testified they were terrified of Jasso because of all his scary tattoos, some of them pictures of skulls and other pagan symbols, and because he had threatened to kill them and their families if they told anyone about his involvement with them.
Jasso admitted he gave the girls booze and marijuana but denied he threatened the girls or their families.
“They’re damn liars,” he told the jurors during the sentencing portion of the trial on Thursday. “I don’t know why they brought that crap in here.”
Warner told jurors there was no reason for the girls, who were unrelated, to make up the stories against Jasso.
She asked Jasso if he could explain how it is that all the girls had similar stories to tell about his sexual advances.
Jasso said Beeville is a small community and that perhaps the girls conspired against him. He did not elaborate.
Jasso’s attorney, John Tinder, told jurors that the girls’ testimony contained many inconsistencies and improbabilities.
For instance, he said, one of the girls testified she performed oral sex on Jasso but was unaware he had only one testicle.
And one of the girls testified that Jasso came over to her home in the Capehart subdivision every morning for a month and had sex with her.
Tinder reminded the jury that an adult caregiver who came over to the house daily testified she never saw Jasso at the home in the morning hours. And, Tinder told the jury, how was it that Jasso could have sex with the girl in the home and the girl’s parents be unaware.v
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