Content note: description of child sexual assault
This article was originally published in The Examiner on Nov. 23, 2017.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
A Nederland resident was indicted by a Jefferson County Grand Jury Nov. 15 for continuous sexual abuse of a child and aggravated child sexual assault, according to court documents.
Eric Joseph Scott, 35, is accused of raping two 9-year-old girls, according to a probable cause affidavit.
One of the girls’ mother told police she became friends with Scott in November 2015 and he agreed to babysit her children.
Her daughter told her mother that Scott was sexually abusing her in March 2016.
The mother told the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office that Scott was never investigated for the allegations because another police agency told her there was nothing that could be done.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted Port Arthur and Nederland Police with a child sexual assault case June 25, when Scott’s former employer discovered child pornography on his cell phone. Scott was later arrested on a parole violation.
A search warrant on Scott’s cell phone revealed several videos of child pornography and still photos of young minor females, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Two of the videos of the child victims are from June 2, and the other video is from June 5, investigators said.
One of the victims was interviewed July 31 at the Garth House and stated that Scott penetrated her vagina with his fingers at least twice in a 30-day period between Nov. 2015 and March 2016.
She also told investigators that Scott promised her chewing gum in exchange for sex and showed her pornographic videos involving children on his phone, telling her that he liked little girls.
The other victim’s hair sample tested positive for cocaine, which explains why she did not know Scott assaulted her, the affidavit said.
Scott is charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, all of which are first-degree felonies.
If convicted, Scott could be imprisoned for between five to 99 years or life in prison.
Eleanor Skelton 