Man Gets 99 Years for Child Sex Assault

RUSK — A man was convicted and sentenced to 99 years in prison Monday in Rusk for the sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl. KETK reports that the verdicts came in from a Cherokee County jury after Joe Lira Longoria was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. The district attorney’s office says the assault took place in 2013 at Lake Jacksonville while the girl was with her family over the Fourth of July weekend. The jury saw video-taped interviews in which the defendant admitted to the assault. The victim, now a 12-year-old, testified during the trial.

Following the guilty verdict, the state put on several witnesses who all attested to Longoria’s violent history, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Many of the witnesses were jail guards and administrators who testified Longoria has been involved in several instances of violence against jailers. They also noted his attacks seemed to be directed toward female jailers.