(Ryan Crowe/FCR)
FLOYDADA – Jesus Zarate will next be a free man in 2064. That was the decision of a Floyd County jury Wednesday morning as they sentenced the 27-year-old to 40 years in prison.
Zarate was found guilty Tuesday evening for the continued sexual assault of a minor relative. The assault occurred over a span of multiple years from the time the victim was 12 years old.
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Zarate took the stand Wednesday morning in asking for leniency in the case. His conviction had a minimum sentence of 25 years, a maximum of 99, and a $10,000 fine. In closing arguments, District Attorney Emily Teagardin asked the jury to sentence Zarate, a man with a previous felony conviction for assaulting a Floyd County deputy, to 50 years in prison.
Ultimately, the jury deliberated for 45 minutes before turning in their four-decade sentence to Judge Bill Smith.
Zarate, who has been held in the Castro County Jail since his October 2022 arrest, will now be handed over to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice custody. His sentence also requires him to register as a sex offender when he is released at the age of 67.
