A Texas man was convicted of child torture and sentenced to more than 10 life sentences for the crime.
Prosecutors say David Calhoun, 38, tortured several children in a manner similar to how prisoners of war and political prisoners were tortured during the Korean and Vietnam wars, Fox 4 reported. did. According to Fox 4, the abuse was inflicted on several of his stepchildren and his nephew who lived with him. Inside a fifth wheel trailer near Gainesville, Texas.
After deliberating for less than an hour, jurors Monday found Calhoun guilty of five counts of sexual assault of a child, seven counts of aggravated assault and one count of strangulation, according to the Cook County District Attorney’s Office.
Jurors took about the same amount of time to decide on Calhoun’s punishment: 10 life sentences, one 10-year sentence and two 20-year sentences.
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David Calhoun, 38, was found guilty of five counts of child sexual assault, seven counts of aggravated assault and one count of strangulation. (Cook County Jail)
“The prolonged torture that the defendant inflicted on the children in this case is the worst abuse I have ever seen,” Cook County Attorney Eric Erlandson said in a statement. “The mental, psychological and physical torture they endured for the better part of six years was unimaginable.”
“The resilience and strength shown by the children in this case is awe-inspiring. They never gave up and showed tremendous courage from the beginning. The lasting legacy of this case is “Evil never wins. Even when things seemed hopeless, the children were determined to make their stories heard,” Erlandson added.
According to court documents, the abuse began in 2017 when Calhoun began caring for her nephews.
Investigators learned of the abuse in 2022 after Calhoun’s 16-year-old nephew was found in a Nebraska hotel room with several unrelated adults.
The boy told police he ran away from home to escape extreme physical and psychological abuse. He showed scars all over his body and described how he had been held captive for days, set on fire with gasoline, beaten with a metal pipe, stabbed with a kitchen knife, and had his face and genitals burned almost daily with lighters and cigarette lighters. . cow products.
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David Calhoun was sentenced to 10 life sentences, one 10-year sentence, and two 20-year sentences. (St. Petersburg)
The boy said Calhoun used a channel lock to remove his fingernails and toenails. He also said Calhoun knocked out some of his teeth with brass knuckles and tied a hair tie around his testicles for 24 hours.
Investigators later discovered evidence that the abuse occurred in multiple cities in East Texas and that multiple children and adults in the home were victims of Calhoun’s abuse.
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“The abuse increased and culminated in Cook County, Texas, in the summer of 2022,” the Cook County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “At the time, Pamela Miller, senior policy analyst at the APSAC Children’s Policy Center, described this abuse as intrafamilial child torture, the type of torture suffered by prisoners of war and political prisoners during the Korean War. “Almost indistinguishable from the torture of the Vietnam War.” “
Calhoun’s wife, Ashley Calhoun, and another adult who lived in the home were also charged in connection with the incident. They are scheduled to go to trial next month.
