<p>A former Franklin man was convicted last week on three felony charges after he sexually assaulted a child for more than a year.</p><p>Christopher A. White, 38, of 2135 Lake Hills Drive, Kingwood, Texas, has been found guilty of child molesting, rape when compelled by force or imminent threat of force and sexual battery, where the victim is compelled to submit by force or threat of force. He faces up to 40 years in prison.</p><p>The victim, who was less than 14 years old at the time of the attacks, which occurred in an apartment in Franklin and a home in New Whiteland in 2015 and 2016, testified during the one-day bench trial last week, recounting the details of her abuse to Johnson County Superior 2 Judge Peter Nugent, who presided over the case.</p><p>She had known White since she was a young child and had spent the night at his home, court documents said.</p><p>She told a forensic interviewer that White had tried to have sex with her when his wife was sleeping, and that when she would tell him no, he would tell her to hush. He also told her that she was not allowed to use his phone, such as for watching videos, if she didn’t have sex with him, according to court documents.</p><p>She told the interviewer that he took off her clothes, threw them across the room and covered her mouth when she tried to scream, and he would hold her arms to keep her from pushing him away during one assault, court documents said.</p><p>The girl didn’t tell anyone initially because White told her that if she told anyone, her mom would kill her and then kill White, and her life would be over, according to court documents.</p><p>The family then moved to Texas, and White also moved to the area shortly after the family did about two years ago, although he had no connection to the community, court documents said. The child told her mother and school counselor about the incidents in spring 2018 after White had moved to her new community, tried to kiss her and repeated his earlier threats that her life would be over if she told anyone, according to court documents.</p><p>When the girl realized White hadn’t changed, she told her mother and a school counselor the next day, court documents said.</p><p>The trial was also a first for Nanook, the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office support dog, which sat at the victim’s feet as she testified in court, according to a prosecutor’s office news release. There were also a number of new faces in and around the courtroom. About a dozen members of BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse) roared into town on their motorcycles to provide support to the victim and her family throughout the day, the news release said.</p><p>“Having to tell, and retell, different people about an incredibly personal and traumatic series of events is difficult enough for adults. It is exponentially more difficult for children. I am so thankful that we have these kinds of victim resources here in Johnson County to help empower our most fragile of victims,” prosecutor Joe Villanueva said in the news release.</p><p>The investigation started in May 2018 when Franklin police received a report from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Texas, about a possible assault that had occurred in Franklin. Texas authorities conducted the investigation. White hired an attorney and wouldn’t answer their questions, according to court documents.</p><p>Local police traveled to Texas in September 2018 and arrested White on a warrant. He was taken to the Johnson County jail, but was released on bond in July 2019, according to online court records. </p><p>On Thursday, White was booked in the local jail, where he will await his sentencing hearing, scheduled for April 9.</p>
