The following press release was issued Wednesday afternoon:
District Attorney Micheal Murray reported that on Tuesday, March 22 Dalton Ty-Allen Crowder, 23, was convicted of sexual assault in two cases and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Crowder was tried in the 25th Judicial District Court before Judge Mike Smith for two sexual assaults, Assistant District Attorney Alex Hunn presented evidence that Crowder met both victims online, and invited them to meet him at his home where he sexually assaulted them. Both cases were investigated by Leighton Wyatt with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, who testified on Monday about the similarities between the two 2019 assaults that became apparent after reviewing Crowder’s electronic communications and interviewing Crowder and the two victims. Crowder claimed to be a “sex addict” in his electronic messages, and when interviewed by Wyatt admitted that “she said no but that’s not gonna stop me from trying” and “I was just using her for sex.”
Crowder pled not guilty and claimed that the encounters were consensual. After a two-day trial in which both victims testified about the sexual assaults and the severe effects the assaults had on their lives, Crowder was convicted in both cases, which each carry a sentencing range from a minimum of deferred adjudication probation up to a maximum of 20 years in prison. Judge Smith sentenced Crowder to five years incarceration in each case, to be served consecutively in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Because Crowder was convicted of sexual assault, he will not be eligible for parole until serving half his sentence in each case, and will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life after being released from prison.