Texas man who lured 5-year-old with a sundae before molesting her, sentenced to 20 years

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A Houston, Texas, man convicted of luring a 5-year-old girl with ice cream and molesting her was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office, according to FOX 26 in Houston, said the victim, in 2020, accused James Joseph King, 75, of molesting her when she was 5 in 2011.

James Joseph King booking photo (Harris County DA)

King and the girl’s family were friends, and in 2011 he hosted a party at his place. That night, an investigation learned, the girl was allowed to stay at King’s house overnight.

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The victim told investigators King lured her into the kitchen "with the promise of a sundae," and when they were alone, he sexually assaulted her, according to the DA’s office.

The media company also said King tried to molest the victim again, "after she went to bed, but she pushed him off her."

Inside a courtroom with gavel in view.  (iStock)

When the girl was 15, she told her mother what happened, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation.

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On Tuesday, after a three-day trial, King was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

"Child molesters are predators, and it is crucial to seek justice in these cases to hold them accountable for their actions," Harris County DA Kim Ogg said. "This young girl’s family thought they could trust this man, but he betrayed them in the most horrific of ways."