ATHENS, Texas — On Thursday, April 29, a man has been sentenced to 40 years in the Texas Department of Corrections for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child in Henderson County.
Randell Scott Eads, 33, was sentenced to 10 years for four charges of Possession of Child Pornography (a third-degree felony) to run concurrently with a sentence of 10 years for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (a third-degree felony) that he received on February 11, 2021.
Due to the seriousness of the charges, Eads will be ineligible for release until 2060, when he is in his seventies.
"One of my first priorities when taking office in January of this year was to work hard to ensure justice for all victims, especially our most vulnerable child victims," said District Attorney Jenny Palmer. "This sentence ensures that the public is protected from this heinous predator and requires the defendant to serve every day of a 40-year sentence with no possibility of parole."
The case stems from an investigation by Athens Police Department Detective Taylor Rice that began in 2018 when the victim made an outcry that Eads, who lived in the same household, came into the bedroom of the victim and sexually assaulted her numerous times.
Eads, a registered sex offender, was indicted on April 20, 2020 for the offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. Detective Rice obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s cell phone, where numerous images of child pornography were found. The defendant was subsequently indicted for Possession of Child Pornography on April 1, 2021.
The victim’s mother read a victim impact statement written by the child after sentencing.
"We worked very closely with the victim and the victim’s mother to ensure that the victim’s voice would be heard and that their wishes would be honored," Palmer said.
Palmer said the victim and the victim’s mother were pleased with the sentence and very relieved that the child did not have to testify. Additionally, the victim received a lifetime protective order against Eads.
The State of Texas was represented by Palmer and Assistant DA Samantha Pace. Detective Rice and Detective Adam Parkins from the Athens Police Department, as well as representatives from Maggie's House Child Advocacy Center and the Henderson County Help Center appeared in court.
“We are so proud of the hard work of everyone involved in this case,” said Palmer. We will continue our fight to make sure that victims of sexual abuse receive justice."
