A jury has sentenced an Arkansas man to 46 years in prison for sexually assaulting a relative who was a child at the time, the Texarkana Gazette reported.
On Thursday, the Miller County jury convicted Michael David Lee Walker, 32, of rape and sexual indecency with a child who is now 18.
During the trial, the victim’s mother, brother, grandmother and aunt reportedly took Walker’s side, testifying in support of him and not the victim.
"This has cost [the victim] his family; his own brother threatened physical harm if he came up here,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell said during closing arguments. “They told him he would be completely ostracized by the family if he testified.”
A defense attorney told the jury that the victim was angry because Walker had punched him, saying that the victim — who took the stand during the trial — "couldn't look at anybody because he's lying."
Walker’s wife, Sarah Walker, is currently serving seven years probation for molesting the same victim, the newspaper reported.
During the trial, the jury learned that Walker has been accused of raping and sexually assaulting two other female relatives.
Click here to read the full story in the Texarkana Gazette.
