RAINS COUNTY, Texas — An East Texas man has been sentenced to prison for heinous acts of violence against children.
According to the Rains County District Attorney's Office, a jury recently sentenced Jimmy Ardell Harden to 19 years in prison on the following charges:
- Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (5-year sentence)
- Assault family or house member impede breath/circulation (2-year-sentence)
- Continuous violence against the family (10-year sentence)
- Injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury (2-year sentence)
A fine of $8,000 was also assessed against Harden.
The Rains County District Attorney's Office says the crimes occurred over the period of March 2013-July 2021.
Officials say Harden made children place their hands on hot coals or embers as punishment for buying a book at the school book fair. He also chased a child and placed his arm across the child's airway, slammed their face into the ground and hit them in the head several times with a metal pipe for not painting boards correctly. Authorities say Harden also slapped the children, pulled their hair out, threw tools at them, hit them with a large stick and impeded their airways.