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AP via Liberty County Sheriff's Department
Eric McGowen, 20, was captured Tuesday after vanishing on Aug. 29 during a break in the proceedings of his rape trial in Texas.
A man who fled his Texas rape trial in late August was back in custody on Tuesday, after reportedly being found on the toilet in a Houston-area apartment, authorities said.
Officials arrested 20-year-old Eric McGowen without incident, in an apartment complex in northeast Houston at 9:15 a.m. CT Tuesday, Click2Houston.com reported. Officers told Houston's CBS-affiliate KHOU that he was arrested and handcuffed while sitting on the toilet. The U.S. Marshals Service says authorities were able to find McGowen with information provided to the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force.
McGowen had been charged in the repeated group sexual assault of an 11-year-old Texas girl. He fled his trial for this case on Aug. 29, the same day the now 13-year-old victim testified about the attacks in Cleveland, Texas, about 45 miles northeast of Houston. Authorities had been looking for McGowen ever since.
The trial went on without McGowen, and on Aug. 30 he was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was then sentenced in absentia to 99 years in prison.
Related: Sex assault of girl, 11, divides Texas town
McGowen was among a group of 20 adults and juveniles who were accused of sexually assaulting the girl on at least five occasions over a three-month span in 2010, Click2Houston.com reported.
McGowen was the first to stand trial. All six juveniles charged and six of the adults have pleaded guilty, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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William. I suppose there must be some point to your rant but just what is it? This guy got 99 years. Seems like a fair sentence for a terrible crime. I hope the others also got their fair trial and their fair sentence. Nothing more to the story.
There were 14 males and 6 juveniles. The juveniles, ranging in age from 17 to middleschool, all pled guilty and got suspended sentences. McGowan was the first of the adults to go on trial.
I'm curious if Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton showed up to support the girl? Wait. Wrong color.
You are right, We should have a mandatory death penality without appeals for the perpetrators of Rape on children. You seem so worried about the rights of the criminal when the child that was repeatedly brutalized will NEVER be whole human being again.
That is what is missing here not that our criminal courts are fair. My sister went to prison for defending herself against a known fellon and she got 25 years for killing the scumbag. do you know what the lawyer said? If you believe in truth , justice and the American way, you are all fools" (Speaking to our family) "The Courts are about money and who gets paid. I could get her off tomorrow if I weere to employ money to the right places." He was wanting the family to come up with 100,000.00 dollars in legal fees even though he was a court appointed atty.
She took the plea deal that kept her from the death penalty. You liberals always want to reach for the race card when it does not exist. However, the gap between rich and poor is wide and privilaged rights are hidden but not invisable. She is white and we are poor, but honest. The man she killed was terrorizing her over a period of time of months. She armed herself and when he came at her, she shot him repeatedly with a small caliber pistol.
When OJ murdered his wife and got away with it, it was because of money and his Dream team of lawyers and Cockran. The last time I checked OJ is black. Had he not been famous, rich and well connected, his but would have never made the news. The liberal press can either condem a person to a point of being castrated in the public, or can be portrayed as a victim, go figure.
Lazarus
Guess some of you would not agree with me,but a baby raper like that I think should get automatic death sentence,to be carried out asap.Baby raper=a person who sexually abuses a person under the legal age of consent.
It was a given that they would catch him. He is young and stupid. He wasn't going to get far. I don't blame him for running. I would too, if I were in his position. 99 years. Wow! You're a 20 year old, and you know that you will spend the rest of your life in prison, never, ever, get out, even if you live to be 100 years old. That has got to be a nightmare.
Michael would you and a group of other boys and men repeatedly rape an 11 year old girl? Your sympathy for him(the Perp) leads me to believe you would, yourself, like a piece of the action with that baby girl. Were I the father, uncle or just an informed citizen with access to these people, the group of brutal animals would not live to see another day with a world of pain beginning the moment I had them accessible to an Honorable person.
These 99 years of jail will cost the taxpayers millions when a bullet is about .35 cents. He will need to be protected from the general population and thus will be housed with the other perverts housed there. I was once a case worker for Social services and an inmate informed me of how well the sexual perverts/Child molesters are treated. They bond with each other and sit around relating stories of their sexual exploits and the victims that they had taken. The only thing missing was a campfire and smores and a few verses of CUMBAYA.
We invite the perpetrators of sexual oriented psychopaths to a life of liberal laws while the victims are doomed to a miserable existence of life.
Can anyone please help me to understand, WHY?
Lazarus
You say you would run as well? If I were personally involved I would hope the removal the type of person who do this to a child, from existence on Earth.
Do you know what a nightmare is? It is what life is for a child who survives sexual abuse, or rape for many reasons. But a main reason is that the perpetrator is probably someone they know, or trust. I would bet that the heinous, brutal, perverts that did this to this child were neighbors and friends, she probably called many of them by first name.
The victims will never again be able to trust, to love or even be loved in what society would like to think as normal. They will instinctively seek out the very type of men who damaged her. She will probably even subject any children she may have in the future, to the same treatment through her neglect, or intent.
Once upon a time society had parents that knew where their children were and made sure that the children were safe as possible. People know that men and teenage boys are only as honorable as their penis will allow them to be.
Every single one of these monsters, no matter the age needs to be castrated. Eunuchs make good companions to women.
In the Islamic culture, these men would not be punished, and the poor child would be made to suffer in the name of Allah by being forced to marry one of these men or boys. Perhaps that is the key to Islam, Rapist that want to be vindicated in the name of God?
Lazarus
Larry has issues. He needs psychiatric help, badly.
Be happy that it wasn't one of the GOP Tea Party members deciding this case. It could have been determined that these rapes weren't legitimate. Of course, that would also mean that a pregnancy may result, but hey, 11 yr old girls have babies all the time...right? And by the way...it would be so cool if all you folks blogging on this article wouldn't make the racial slurs. This man isn't an ape...he's a black American that is nothing but a shell with no empathy for the pain of other Americans. Please don't insult what few apes we have left in the world by comparing them to this guy.
Would you please speak clearly? What is it you are trying to say? If you are being sarchastic, then say so.
All African Americans are not bad people anymore than the White people are. Race has less than nothing to do with a story like this unless some small minded person or news agency makes it so. Except when Barry comes out and says the perp looks like the son he never had.
However, when ideologies like a violent religion allows this type of abuse to happen every day and has allowed it for two thousand years, then we need to sit up and take notice when it come to our back yard.
We really need to stand up as citizens of the nation and demand tougher punishments against the predators of women and children. One voice that crosses race, and gender, political beliefs, and religion, and geographical boundaries.
We need to hold men accountable with the same level of compassion they show their victims. Allah or God, does not sanction the deaths of children and women, evil men and women do. The gentle people of humanity need to be protected because they are our treasures. They choose to do no harm and that is what we all really dream of, except for the brutal animals hiding within the flock.
The term Sinner was coined by Moses to single out certain people that resisted being led to Cannan. "The wages of sin is death", so sayeth Moses, the lord.
DEATH is the tool of the brutal natured that would dominate all others to their will.
Lazarus
Forget the death penalty for rape cases like these. The girl will be tortured the rest of her life, so should he.
As far as OJ goes, I am still surprised that a woman's rights group didn't have him assassinated.
His sex life is going to be a little different now.
All Black Americans are not bad people anymore than the White Americans are. Neither are the Latinos, Orientals, Caucasians, or any other colors of the rainbow.
Race has less than nothing to do with a story like this unless some small minded person or news agency makes it so. Except when Barry comes out and says the perp looks like the son he never had.
However, when ideologies like a violent religion allows this type of abuse to happen every day and has allowed it for two thousand years, then we need to sit up and take notice when it comes to our back yard.
We really need to stand up as citizens of the nation and demand tougher punishments against the predators of women and children. One voice that crosses race, and gender, political beliefs, and religion, and geographical boundaries.
We need to hold men accountable with the same level of compassion they show their victims. Allah or God, does not sanction the deaths of children and women, evil men and women do. The gentle people of humanity need to be protected because they are our treasures. They choose to do no harm and that is what we all really dream of, except for the brutal animals hiding within the flock, their dreams are somewhat different.
The term Sinner was coined by Moses to single out certain people that resisted being led to Cannan. "The wages of sin is death", so sayeth Moses, the lord.
DEATH is the tool of the brutal natured that would dominate all others to their will.
Would you and a group of other boys and men repeatedly rape an 11 year old girl? The sympathy for the perp from some readers here, lead me to believe you would, yourself, like a piece of the action with that baby girl. Were I the father, uncle or just an informed citizen with access to these people, the group of brutal animals would not live to see another day with a world of pain beginning the moment we had them accessible to an Honorable person.
These 99 years of jail will cost the taxpayers millions when a bullet is about .35 cents. He will need to be protected from the general population and thus will be housed with the other perverts housed there. I was once a case worker for Social services and an inmate informed me of how well the sexual perverts/Child molesters are treated. They bond with each other and sit around relating stories of their sexual exploits and the victims that they had taken. The only thing missing was a campfire and smores and a few verses of CUMBAYA.
We invite the perpetrators of sexual oriented psychopaths to a life of liberal laws while the victims are doomed to a miserable existence of life.
Can anyone please help me to understand, WHY?
Do you know what a nightmare is? It is what life is for a child who survives sexual abuse, or rape for many reasons. But a main reason is that the perpetrator is probably someone they know, or trust. I would bet that the heinous, brutal, perverts that did this to this child were neighbors and friends, she probably called many of them by first name.
The victims will never again be able to trust, to love or even be loved in what society would like to think as normal. They will instinctively seek out the very type of men who damaged her. She will probably even subject any children she may have in the future, to the same treatment through her neglect, or intent.
Once upon a time society had parents that knew where their children were and made sure that the children were safe as possible. People know that men and teenage boys are only as honorable as their penis will allow them to be. To believe otherwise is to ignore Nature itself. Without morals and family values, men are walking sex organs.
Every single one of these monsters, no matter the age needs to be castrated. Eunuchs make good companions to women.
In the Islamic culture, these men would not be punished, and the poor child would be made to suffer in the name of Allah by being forced to marry one of these men or boys. Perhaps that is the key to Islam, Rapist that want to be vindicated in the name of God?
Lazarus
Glad I don't live in cleveland texas. I cant beleive the number of folks that were willing to molest that little girl the report was like 20 or close to that, What kind of community has that many residents that are willing to molest a little girl, Don't they have any values in that community? So hard to beleive that a community would be able to produce a large number of folks willing to go along with that type crime knowing that it is wrong. Glad the authorties were able to apprehend the defendant who fled from the courtroom.
Some of the other naggers that participated in the gang rapes got 7 year suspended sentences. What type of catch and release bull@!$%# system do we have here? Where is the justice in that? Why did they just get a slap on the wrist? Are these naggers special? Were the authorities trying to prevent a massive chimpout?
I bet he about $hit (again) when they came in on him while on the toilet... Sorry... this is not a laughing matter. He deserves every minute he got-!!! That poor child will have to live with this forever! I hope they have gotten help for her- she will need it. Bless her heart! Knowing he is now in jail will help her get through this a little better- she won't have to worry about him and where he is and IF he would be back. My prayers are with you child- please don't let this hinder you- try and put it behind you and have a wonderful life. I know it will always be in the back of your mind- but God willing, you will get past this and live your life to it's fullest!
A slow torturous death they deserve Enough said!