TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired March 22, 2019.
A Tyler man was sentenced to life in prison for attacking and sexually assaulting a woman at Rose Rudman Park in March 2019.
James Earl Roberts, Jr., 37, received the life sentence on Friday after he pleaded guilty earlier this month to an aggravated kidnapping/sexual abuse charge, according to court records.
His conviction stems from when Roberts held a woman at knifepoint and molested her on March 14, 2019 while she was finishing her run that evening.
An arrest affidavit states the woman heard someone following her while she was running around 7:30 p.m. That person, who was later identified as Roberts, tackled her from behind, put his hand on her face, told her to be quiet and said he had a knife, the document read.
Roberts then drug the woman into a wooded area as she fought and screamed. He pushed her face to the ground while holding the knife to her neck, the affidavit detailed.
The woman told police Roberts said he wanted to have sex with her, and he molested her while tightening his grip over her mouth. Roberts tried to pull her pants down, according to the document.
She was able to get the knife from Roberts and throw it away. She grabbed her phone and tried to unlock it, but Roberts grabbed the phone and threw it. Then, Roberts tried to take the woman's pants off again, but she kicked him and he ran away, the affidavit said.
While waiting for help, she found a shoe in the creek that she believed belonged to Roberts. Another woman helped the victim contact police. Officers found the victim's phone in the woods. A fingerprint on the phone allowed police to identify Roberts, the document said.
Following further investigation, an arrest warrant was issued. Roberts had been booked into the Smith County Jail two days after the attack for public intoxication.
Later in 2019, Roberts was declared incompetent to stand trial and was transferred to a mental health facility, but his competency has since been restored.