The Paris News

The 6th Court of Appeals at Texarkana has affirmed the trial court’s actions in an appeal brought by a Reno woman convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.

Melissa Marie Martin had appealed a sentence by a Lamar County jury to 28 years in the Texas prison system for aggravated assault and three 20 year sentences for indecency involving an 8-year-old boy.

On appeal, she alleged the trial court erred by rehabilitating venire members and intervening during voir dire and that she received ineffectual assistance from counsel.

The appeals court affirmed the trial court judgment on the first point, then said of the claim of ineffectual counsel: “It cannot be said that counsel fell below standards of professional norms, given the possible explanations for his behavior. Because appellant cannot meet her burden to overcome the presumption that counsel’s conduct fell within the range of reasonable professional assistance or that the result at the trial would have been different but for counsel’s alleged ineffectiveness, we overrule her second point of error.”

Martin received 20-year sentences on three counts of indecency with a child.

All four sentences will run concurrently.

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