NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, Texas — An East Texas man has been sentenced to life in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
According to the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office, Mark Allen Thompson 35, pleaded guilty to the crime and accepted the sentence. According to judicial records, Thompson was charged with 29 crimes related to child sexual assault.
Thompson was originally arrested by the NCSO on September 18, 2019, after an investigation revealed probable cause for his arrest. Thompson was originally charged with nine counts of aggravated sexual assault and was booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail.
INITIAL INVESTIGATION
During an investigation in September 2019, the sheriff’s office says they identified Thompson, Kellie Goodin, 34, and Frankie Mealer, 46, as the trio connected to the sexual assault of two victims under the age of 15.
On September 18, 2019, Thompson was arrested while in a local motel room on South Street in Nacogdoches and booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail on a charge of sexual assault and a parole violation.
According to the NCSO, investigators learned Thompson and Mealer gave their child victims drugs before sexually assaulting them.
Officials say Goodin admitted she was aware one of the children was being sexually assaulted and witnessed one of the events.
"Goodin failed to take any action to stop the sexual assaults from occurring, and further failed to report these crimes to authorities," the NCSO said in a statement.
Goodin was arrested after being found in a local motel room on two charges of failure to report and hindering apprehension. Mealer was arrested at his home on four counts of child sexual assault.
Goodin and Mealer remain in custody and are still awaiting trial.