A Montgomery County jury has found Michael Wayne Kelly, 38, guilty of the offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child.
The trial was held in the 9th District Court of Montgomery County, Texas, Judge Phil Grant presiding. Following his conviction, the jury sentenced the defendant to 99 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
In October of 2014, Detective Shannon Acosta, then with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, began investigating an offense involving child sexual abuse. Through the investigation and with assistance from the Port Lavaca Police Department, The Harbor Children’s Alliance and Children’s Safe Harbor, it was discovered Kelly had been having sexual contact with his 6 year old child for a year while they were staying alone together in a hotel and with his 14 year old child during visits for nine years. At punishment, Assistant District Attorneys Lisa Stewart and Brittney Aaron asked the jury to do what this father never did and protect these two children from ever having to worry about where Kelly is. The jury then came back and sentenced Kelly to 99 years. Due to the nature of this offense, Kelly will not be eligible for parole.
Chief Prosecutor Lisa Stewart said, “Kelly violated his children in the absolute worst way that any father could. In reality, he wasn’t a real father, he was a manipulating child predator and we are happy the jury put him where he belongs for the rest of his life. We are proud of the law enforcement agencies involved in this case and acknowledge the extreme courage it took for these kids to follow through with this process.”