Man sentenced to 1,000 years in prison for sexual abuse of two girls

A San Marcos man on Monday was sentenced to 1,000 years in prison for sexually abusing two young girls over several years.

Robert Franks, 39, was convicted on two counts of continuous sexual abuse, nine counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and six counts of indecency with a child, according to a statement from Hays County Criminal District Attorney Wes Mau’s office.

The sentence he received for those crimes on Monday also included two life sentences.

According to testimony, a 9-year-old girl who knew Franks told her father in June 2016 that Franks was doing "disgusting things" to her while she was at Franks' home. During forensic interviews, the victim said Franks, 39, would force her and another girl to perform sexual acts on him, Mau's office said. 
The other girl, a 10-year-old, initially denied having been abused by Franks, but when taken to a sexual assault nursing examiner, the girl described previous sexual incidents, saying she had been systematically abused for years, Mau's office said. 

Both children described similar sexual acts committed to them both individually and separately, the DA’s office statement said.

During a short punishment hearing, another adult woman accused Franks of sexually abusing her when she was 10 and he was 14, and again when she was 16 and he was 20, the statement said.

“Words cannot really express the depth of the betrayal and outrage warranted by conduct like this, committed by a man who should have been caring for and protecting these children,” Mau said. “The jury’s sentence speaks more eloquently than I can to make clear how our community feels about crimes like these.”

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