Man Gets Maximum Sentence for Multiple Sex Crimes

ATHENS — An East Texas man has received the maximum sentence for six sexually-related crimes after pleading guilty. KETK reports that Cedric Verachai Herring, 34, formerly of Brownsboro, was sentenced in Athens Tuesday. He gets life in prison for aggravated sexual assault, life in prison for sexual assault of a child, 99 years for sexual assault of a child, 20 years for indecency with a child by contact, 20 years on each of two counts of sexual performance by a child, and 10 years for possession of child pornography. Herring was indicted after an investigation into the cases in April 2014 when a complaint was made to the Brownsboro Police Department by the mother of one of Herring’s victims.

A search warrant obtained for cell phones used and owned by Herring revealed over 4,000 sexually explicit images, including pictures involving sexual acts between Herring and a female under the age of 14. The minor female testified that her earliest memories of the abuse began at age three and continued regularly until she was 13, when the pictures were discovered. By his plea, Herring also admitted to taking sexually provocative pictures of other underage females and sexually assaulting them, as well. Two of these victims also testified at the punishment hearing.

In a rare instance of prosecutions of this nature, Herring took the stand on his own behalf and told the court that he had no recollection of the events, but congratulated the girls for coming forward. He blamed a combination of alcohol and Ambien for his lack of memory over the decade of abuse, which officials point out did not affect his ability to attend nursing school and become a registered nurse during the relevant time period.