Ennis Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Child Sexual Assault
An Ennis man, Wilbert James Jones Jr., has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a child over a decade ago. The 57-year-old was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault of a child and will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The crimes occurred in 2011 when Jones met a 15-year-old girl during a homecoming party shortly after his release from prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Jones groomed the teenager and proceeded to sexually assault her on multiple occasions. As a result, the victim became pregnant, and the baby was born in 2012.
However, it wasn’t until 2020 that a family member of the victim decided to come forward and report the assaults to the authorities. Investigators discovered that Jones had admitted to some sexual contact but denied any intercourse. Nevertheless, a DNA test confirmed that Jones was indeed the father of the child.
During the trial, the Ellis County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Jones attempted to flee from detention officers but was eventually recaptured. A jury subsequently found him guilty of the three counts of sexual assault of a child, which is a second-degree felony carrying a prison sentence ranging from 2 to 20 years. However, due to Jones’ previous conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the jury enhanced each sentence to life in prison.
Ellis County and District Attorney Ann Montgomery commended the courage of the family member who came forward to report the crimes and support the child victim. Montgomery stated, “She opened the door that the child victim walked through on her journey to justice.”
