UPDATED: Wichita Falls man found guilty of indecency with child, gets prison time
Andrew Scott Riggs' victim said not a day has gone by for seven years that she hasn't closed her eyes and seen him.
Now an adult, she said she has lost herself and any feeling of safety because of Riggs.
"I have flashbacks and nightmares daily," she said while giving a victim impact statement Monday evening after Riggs' trial.
A jury of eight women and four men found Riggs, 46, of Wichita Falls, guilty of indecency with a child Monday in 89th District Court after deliberating for two hours and 45 minutes.
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He was found guilty of indecency with a child by sexual contact in connection with a Jan. 1, 2012, incident, according to court documents.
On Monday evening, the jury took about an hour to determine punishment for Riggs.
The jury handed down a five-year prison sentence and a $2,000 fine. Eighty-ninth District Judge Charles Barnard sentenced Riggs after dismissing the jury.
The maximum punishment for the indecency charge is 20 years in prison.
Testimony indicated a split in the victim's family because of her allegations against Riggs.
"There is nobody on my side except the man I live with and the people who are obligated to be," the victim said.
"The entire situation is so not fair, but I'm strong," the victim said, smiling through tears.
The victim also took the stand during the punishment phase of Riggs' trial.
"There's been a lot of things that have been hard," the victim testified.
She told the jury that since the crime, it has been hard learning to be happy, to know that she's loved and to not feel guilty or embarrassed.
The victim has struggled with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and she became an outcast in her family, she testified.
Testimony in the trial began after jury selection May 16. Two female alternates were also chosen. The penalty phase of the trial began Monday afternoon.
On July 31, 2015, a Child Protective Services investigator contacted Wichita Falls police about a report that an 11-year-old child made an outcry about inappropriate touching, according to court documents.
The child alleged Riggs had touched them inappropriately multiple times, beginning when the child was about 8 and continuing over about two years, according to allegations in court documents.
The child told a forensic interviewer at Patsy's House Advocacy Center that the incidents occurred while the child's mother was in a relationship with Riggs, according to allegations in court documents.
The child's mother had reported an incident in which she caught Riggs sleeping with the child, according to allegations in court documents.
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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Andrew Riggs found guilty of child indecency
