‘Slap on the wrist’: Galveston child sex offender gets 3 year sentence in plea deal
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GALVESTON, Texas – A Galveston man will serve less than three years in prison after pleading guilty to child sexual assault.
46-year-old Tony Mason was sentenced late last month. Court records show he received 628 days of credit for time already served in the Galveston County Jail, which means he could be out of prison by May 2027 at the latest.
Anthony Rogers, president of the Galveston Municipal Police Association, said the outcome has sparked frustration within the department.
“This wasn’t a case that there was a lot of debate in,” Rogers said.
Rogers cited what he described as strong evidence gathered by investigators.
“They had a video confession. They had a written confession from Tony Mason, and they had DNA results that he impregnated the victim,” Rogers said.
According to court documents, Mason sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 17 in August of 2023 and impregnated her.
While out on bond, he was also rearrested for violating his protective order twice within twelve months.
He was indicted by a grand jury on that charge. Court documents state he sexually assaulted the same victim and got her pregnant again while out on bond.
According to Rogers, Mason had been facing multiple charges connected to the case.
“Tony Mason has an extensive, extensive criminal history dating back to a couple decades. He was charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, a couple counts of violation of a protective order,” Rogers said.
KPRC 2 found Mason has been arrested more than a dozen times in the last three decades. Charges include assault, evading arrest, possession of a controlled substance, family assault violence and others.
Mason also served time in prison previously.
Rogers criticized the plea agreement reached by prosecutors, describing the resolution as “a slap on the wrist.”
“It was a slap in the face to the victims, and it was a slap to our members, to the detectives who worked tirelessly to bring justice in this case,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the worst possible punishment Mason faced was life in prison, so he was surprised at this plea deal.
“I think everybody was. It was very loud around here, around the police department, as to everybody being surprised, everybody being angered,” Rogers said.
KPRC 2 reached out to the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office for comment on the plea agreement but has not yet received a response.
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