Texas man sentenced for indecent behavior
A 36-year-old Beaumont, Texas, man convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile was sentenced Wednesday in state district court.
Joshua Hall pleaded no contest March 20 to a charge that he showed a 5-year-old girl his “private parts” and asked her to touch them Jan. 31, 2015.
Hall was sentenced to seven years in prison, with two years suspended, and two years’ probation. He must register as a sex offender for 15 years after being released.
Hall, who was convicted in 1993 of sexually assaulting a child in Texas, was arrested in Vinton on Feb. 20, 2015, and indicted in April 2015 on one count of molestation of a juvenile. Prosecutors amended the charge to indecent behavior.
On Wednesday, Judge Clayton Davis asked defense attorney Shane Hinch about sex crime charges that Hall faces in Texas. Hinch said no court date has been set on the charges and that Texas officials were waiting to see what would transpire in Davis’ courtroom.
Davis said the report on the incident indicated behavior that was shocking and disturbing.