MISSOURI CITY, Texas – A man convicted of continuous sexual abuse of young children was sentenced to 50 years in prison, according to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office.
After hours of deliberation, the jury found 66-year-old Eric Norman Stewart guilty for sexually abusing two children for over two years.
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He will serve his sentence day-for-day under Texas law, according to the release.
Stewart, a former employee of the Department of Family and Protective Services, established a group home at his Missouri City residence, where he fostered and adopted several children.
Prosecutors said he sexually abused both a 9-year-old girl and 12-year-old girl in the home for more than two years, since 2016.
“All children deserve to feel safe in their homes,” said lead prosecutor Alycia Curtis. “This defendant betrayed his role as both a father, and as an employee within Children’s Protective Services, an agency designed to keep kids safe. I’m grateful for this jury’s hard work and their verdict. As a voice for our community, the jury made it clear that there are severe consequences for those who abuse our most vulnerable.”
“The victims’ courage was not only heard, but felt, by everyone in the courtroom,” Prosecutor Craig Priesmeyer said. “Despite the defendant’s attempt to discredit their powerful accounts of repeated sexual abuse, the jury saw through his lies and told him so by their verdict.”