2 time offender gets off easy, Texas
Special Victims Unit: Bandera LAST UPDATE: 2/21/2006 1:21:10 PM Posted By: Mandi Bishop The child sex offender who molested her child got off easy the first time, so a Bandera County woman thought her family would finally get justice when he was arrested again. That did not happen. She did not want to be identified to give her daughter privacy, but says a judge and the system let her daughter down again. She adds that as a result, a convicted child sex offender will be out of prison in no time, putting other children at risk. The News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters Special Victims Unit investigates. Steven Joseph Brown pleaded no contest to indecency with a child nearly eight years ago. The abuse began when the woman's daughter was only two, and lasted until she was five. "He admitted in court that he had molested her up to five times a week for three years," the mother recalls from the trial. Back then a Hill Country judge gave Brown deferred adjudication, a form of probation. The child's mother couldn't believe the sentence. He didn't spend time in jail. As a convicted child sex offender on probation, Brown had certain rules he had to follow. Court documents the Trouble Shooters uncovered show he broke them and recently ended up back in court facing up to twenty years. This time the child's mom hoped he'd get the maximum. Judge Stephen Ables would be the one to make the call. The prosecutor told Judge Ables that Brown admitted being attracted to young children, and that he likes to get close to them in the store because he gets sexually excited. Even Brown's own sex therapist testified that he wasn't making progress in therapy stating for the court, "I feel the best place for him is prison." The prosecution asked judge ables for the maximum sentence of 20 years. Judge Ables gave him 5 years. Judge Ables would not comment on the case since Brown can appeal. Because of state law in Texas, he's only required to serve half his sentence before he's eligible for parole. We tried to reach Brown, but his lawyer did not call us back. We want to give you Judge Ables' office number in case you'd like to share your opinion on this case with him. Feel free to call him at 830-792-2290. http://www.woai.com/troubleshooters/story.aspx?content_id=82BAF233-0C29-46CB-87D3-382E5E4AB95D