Freestone County Times
Seventy-five Cents
Vol. 12 No. 52
PUBLISHED IN THE FREESTONE COUNTY SEAT, FAIRFIELD, TEXAS
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Our Champions Nonetheless, One Team for the Ages!
Fairfield Eagles,Thank You! T
he Fairfield Eagles took the amazing 2013 show to AT&T Stadium in Arlington in the Class 3A Division II state championship game. The two evenly matched teams changed the lead three times in the 38-33 loss to the top ranked Argyle Eagles. The Fairfield Eagles end their season 15-1 as a state finalist. Head coach John Bachtel had been quoted over the last few 519 weeks as saying “Wasn’t this fun,” and “didn’t the kids play well.” Those were spoken through the gushing smiles on the sidelines and the same was true in the loss on Friday. 108802 He added, “what brought everything together was the tragedy of Jonathon on August 13. We all decided to dedicate the season to the Childers family. At that time we ceased to become a team and became a family.” The Fairfield Independent School District sold over 4200 tickets and the game was played
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-Fairfield Eagles-
Santa Letters (Section C)
Holiday Closings (Page 1-B)
Dew UIL Champs (Page 4-D)
Commissioners Meet on Courthouse Steps (Page 1-B)
www.freestonecountytimes.com
Page 6-A
Calendar Fairfield
New Year Luncheon
Freestone County, Fairfield Memorial & ETMC Hospitals
January 4th - 11:00 am
1st UMC - for info 903-389-2882
Quote “Keep It Simple” Fairfield Eagles
Inside Four Sections Classifieds............Page 5-6-D Viewpoints.............Page 6-B Oil & Gas................Page 3-B Obituaries..............Page 4-B Real Estate.............Page 5-D
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Pastor Guilty on All Counts A
week-long trial that began with jury selection in the Fairfield Civic Center at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, December 16, 2013 ended Friday around 5:00 p.m. with Anthony Lynn Thibodeaux’s fate sealed – a ten year prison sentence for Sexual Assault of a child and two sentences of four years each for Indecency with a child, all to run concurrently. Thibodeaux, who had been the Pastor of Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church in Fairfield, Texas for 14 years, still held that position at the time of the trial. District Attorney Chris Marin successfully painted a picture of a 15-year-old child who, after a fun day of swimming, attending a revival, and going to the home of LaDonna Brackens, where she and her two sisters watched TV and ate brownies, had that day turn into a nightmare she may never get over. In order to accomplish this, DA Martin called the minor to the stand to recount that day in detail. She tearfully recalled how she had come to learn that her Pastor, Anthony Lynn Thibodeaux, was in Bracken’s bedroom, and how he violated her. DA Martin called Freestone County Sgt. Clayton Aldrich. His testimony of what the minor told him matched the one she had given in court. DA Martin further called Advocacy Center Director
Michael Davis, where the minor has been in counseling since the incident. Davis gave an account of the minor’s initial interview there, which also lined up with what she had previously sworn to in court. Aldrich and Davis, along with her high school principal deemed the victim to be “honest and forthright.” Another witness, Austin media forensics expert, Nathan Calderon, testified to “googled” words that were typed into a computer belonging to Thibodeaux two months prior to the June 2012 date of the incident. The words were “black teens” and “rape.” Waco forensics expert, Brent Wilson, found no DNA evidence on a swatch of the mattress, but conceded that a condom, the minor stated Thibodeaux had worn, or the sheeting on the bed could have resulted in no DNA being found. Dr. Ann Symms, Medical Director for the Child Advocacy Center, who had conducted a medical examination on the minor, stated that she found no evidence of sexual penetration. However, when an examination is over 97 days from penetration, in only 2% of the cases, evidence is found, she indicated. She likened it to a bite on the tongue where bleeding takes place but healing happens in a few days with no visible scar left. In crossing State’s witnesses,
approaching the bench, Pastor Anthony Thibodeaux (center) is flanked by District Attorney Chris Martin (left) and Defense Attorney Justin Reed during a week-long trial that found him guilty of Sexual Assault and Indecency with a Child. (Photo by Mary McDonald)
Reed asked Sgt. Aldrich if the grandmother, who was present when he interviewed the minor, had put pressure on the minor, saying, “Baby, you have to tell them everything.” Sgt. Aldrich stated that the grandmother had told her to tell what had happened, and the
two got very emotional as the minor recounted everything in a second interview, necessary because of faulty equipment in the first. To the high school principal, who had testified that the minor had perfect attendance for two years, Reed asked that
same question again. The principal repeated that she had perfect attendance. Previously, the minor had testified to having trouble dealing with the incident.
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