The Hays County District Attorney’s Office released a statement Tuesday concerning the sentence of a San Marcos resident charged with sexual abuse, aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.
Robert Benjamin Franks conviction arose from a pattern of sexual abuse against two separate children committed over a period of years. After a hearing, the jury sentenced Franks to two life sentences plus over 1,000 years in prison. Franks is 39 years old.
The two children– Franks’ step daughters– are 9 and 10 years old.
The 9-year-old girl told the court in June 2016 that her father was doing “disgusting things.”
“During a forensic interview conducted shortly afterwards, she described Franks as punishing her by spanking her, followed by Franks’ requiring both her and her stepsister to perform oral sex on him,” stated a press release from the district attorney’s office. “The victim also testified that Franks would put his finger in her anus, but that he never engaged in vaginal intercourse with her.”
The 10-year-old stepsister originally denied sexual contact with Franks, but was taken to an examiner. Following the examination, she testified to similar sexual incidents. She claimed Franks had been sexually abusing her for years.
Both children described remarkably similar sexual practices by Franks against them both individually and separately, over a period of time in excess of 30 days, leading to two charges of continuous sexual abuse.
Franks was charged with nine counts of aggravated sexual assault and six counts of indecency with a child.
The trial began Nov. 13, and continued through Nov. 20. On Nov. 27, the jury deliberated for an hour this before delivering the verdict of guilty on all 17 counts.
The jury also heard from Franks’ adult cousin who accused Franks of taking advantage of her sexually when she was 10 and he was 14, and then again when she was 16 and he was 20.
Franks was sentenced to life on both counts of continuous sexual abuse, 99 years on each of the nine counts of aggravated sexual Assault and 20 years in each of the six counts of indecency with a child. The jury also assessed a total of $120,000 in fines.