East Texas man pleads guilty to continuous sexual abuse of a child, sentenced to 25 years

TX – An East Texas man pleaded guilty to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a young child and sentenced to 25 years.

40-year-old Jerry Neal Finnell of Trinidad will be required to serve his sentence day-for-day with no eligibility for parole. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and be subject to a lifetime protective order for his victim.

Finnell was indicted June 18, 2020 for sexually assaulting a child for a period of more than 30 days from the time the child was 12 years old until the child was 13 years old.

Henderson County District Attorney Jenny Palmer and Assistant District Attorney Samantha Pace represented the state of Texas in this case. Palmer took office in January and dedicated an attorney in her office to solely prosecute crimes against children, which they say is a first in the history of the Henderson County District Attorney’s office.

“I am very proud of the hard work put in by all involved in ensuring that this victim and the victim’s family receive justice,” Palmer said. “Protecting our children from child abusers is a priority of this office. We will continue to work hard to see that all victims have a voice and that offenders of these heinous crimes are punished appropriately.”