Neal acquitted of sex assault charges
A Wichita County jury acquitted Kristopher Curtis Neal on Thursday of two counts of sexual assault of a child, court records show.
Jurors determined Neal was not guilty of allegations that he assaulted two 14-year-old girls Sept. 1, 2014, in Wichita Falls, court documents show.
The jury, two female alternates and one male alternate were selected Tuesday, and attorneys gave their opening statements.
After testimony and closing statements this week, 89th District Judge Charles Barnard gave the case to the seven-man, five-woman jury for deliberation Thursday.
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At one point Thursday, the presiding juror sent Barnard a note saying, "We would like to leave now, and make a decision tomorrow."
The judge's reply: "As I told you in open court, you need to continue to deliberate as soon as you have a 15 minute break."
While deliberating, jurors sent out notes with questions the judge was not allowed to answer under the constraints of the law, court records show.
The jury foreman also sent Barnard a note, saying "If we haven't come up with a decision yet, when can we be dismissed?"
But jurors were able to reach an unanimous verdict Thursday evening after around five hours of deliberation.
Their verdict signals an end to a years-long chapter in Neal's life.
He was arrested Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with sexual assault of a child, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison, court documents show.
The case progressed in the criminal justice system when Neal was indicted in January 2016, court records show.
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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Jury finds Kristopher Neal not guilty of child sexual assault
