An El Paso County man faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison after a jury Tuesday convicted him of sexual assault and multiple counts of felony assault and child abuse against his adopted teenage son.
Jeremiah Lovato, 40, listened in silence as 4th Judicial District Judge Robert L. Lowrey read guilty verdicts for 15 of the 21 counts against him.
Prosecutors and El Paso County sheriff’s investigators lined up to convey their well wishes to the now-15 year-old victim, who sat in a front row flanked by supporters. He showed little emotion as the verdicts were announced.
The boy spent a week in the hospital after he jumped a fence and fled to a neighbor’s house for help Jan. 3, 2010.
The jury of eight women and four men heard testimony during the eight-day trial that Lovato beat the boy with a piece of lumber, meat tenderizer, a belt and his fists while Lovato and the boy lived in Craig and then El Paso County.
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