BRENHAM MAN SENTENCED TO 60 YEARS FOR CONTINUOUS CHILD SEX ABUSE

  

A Brenham man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child. 

41-year-old Michael Earl Bee was previously found guilty of the offense by a jury in July.  He was indicted in July 2019 after a series of outcries were made during an investigation by the Brenham Police Department.  Through the forensic interview process by a local child advocacy center, officials determined a timeline for the abuse and presented the case to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office.

Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child is a specially categorized felony.  It allows the State to charge a person for committing two or more sex acts against a child under 14 during a period of more than 30 days in duration.  The punishment range is 25-99 years, or life, in prison, and up to a $10,000 fine, without the possibility of parole.

No witnesses testified at the punishment hearing for either side. 

The District Attorney’s Office said in a release that the State, through District Attorney Julie Renken, requested a life sentence after the Defense requested a sentence in the “lower end of the range”.  Renken, per the release, pointed to the “heinous” nature of the offense and said there was not only testimony of sexual abuse, but physical as well.

Following the sentence, Renken commented, “60 years without chance of parole sends a message that our community will not tolerate criminals like him.”