A Mustang Ridge man, 46-year-old James Shope, was found guilty last week by a Hays County jury of two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years of age and one count of indecency with a child by sexual contact.
After the punishment phase of trial, the jury returned a verdict of two life sentences in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the two continuous sexual abuse counts as well as the maximum punishment available for indecency with a child by sexual contact of 20 years. There is no possibility of parole for the convictions of continuous sexual abuse of a child. District Judge Joe Pool ordered that the two life sentences run consecutively, stating, “We don’t accept this in Hays County.”
The investigation of Shope began in August of 2023 when two children outcried that Shope had sexually abused them from their kindergarten to their pre-teen years. They further testified to his efforts to keep them silent. After the trial, the jury expressed their unanimous belief in the girls and sympathy for their well-being during their testimony.
This case was investigated by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, with lead detective, Corporal Chase Crow, and was prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Cassidy Story and Abigail Whitaker.
“Our duty is to seek justice, and this jury and judge delivered exactly that,” Story said. “I am so proud of our team’s continued vigilance in protecting the children of this county and of the children who bravely faced the perpetrator in court. Although no verdict will ever heal the lifelong trauma this man has caused, I sincerely hope that both children gain strength and confidence from the jury’s very clear words, ‘we believe you.’”
