FROM STAFF REPORTS
Deavon DeLancey
BURNET — A former Marble Falls Independent School District employee faces the toughest charge available under state law after allegedly sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child and videoing himself doing it.
On Aug. 5, a Burnet County Grand Jury indicted Deavon Ashley DeLancey, 31, of Cottonwood Shores on three counts of super aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of possession with intent to promote child pornography and one count of indecency with a child-sexual contact.
The indictment stems from a Texas Ranger investigation that actually began late last year after the Cottonwood Shores police received information that Delancey might have inappropriate images on his personal computer. The local agency referred the matter to the Texas Rangers.
Texas Ranger Gary Phillips arrested DeLancey on June 5 and initially charged him with aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Burnet County District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee said the higher-level of charges are because of the alleged victim’s age.
“(The Legislature) prescribed a minimum sentence of 25 years, and there is no parole for it if you commit aggravated sexual assault against a child younger than 6 years of age,” the district attorney said.
The Texas Legislature added super aggravated sexual assault in 2007 with a punishment range of 25 years to 99 years or life in prison with no chance of parole. An aggravated sexual assault of a child charge brings a possible term of five years to 99 years or life but with the possibility of parole.
McAfee said the age of the alleged victim can be a determining factor in whether super aggravated sexual assault applies as well as the circumstances of the alleged assault.
“All sexual assaults are horrible, egregious acts — don’t misunderstand,” he said. “We’re talking about (a victim) under the age of 6.”
Aggravated sexual assault of a child applies when the alleged victim is 14 or under, but McAfee said if the perpetrator causes bodily injury or threatens the victim with death, serious bodily injury or commits the act during a kidnapping, then the state can pursue the super aggravated sexual assault of a child as well.
“(It shows) Texas isn’t going to tolerate this,” McAfee said.
In a probable cause affidavit, the Ranger stated that, during a search of the suspect’s residence in Cottonwood Shores, investigators found a computer.
During an interview with the suspect, Phillips stated in the affidavit that DeLancey “confessed” to sexually assaulting the child and making a video recording of the alleged incident. The suspect even told investigators where the recording was located on his computer, according to the affidavit.
The three other charges are second-degree felonies punishable from two to 20 years in prison.
Up to the time of his arrest, DeLancey worked for the Marble Falls Independent School District technology department. When law enforcement alerted district officials of Delancey’s arrest, MFISD dismissed him.
Since his arrest, DeLancey has been held in the Burnet County Jail.
editor@thepicayune.com
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