Milam County man sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sexual assault

MILAM COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) – A Milam County man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for multiple charges of child sexual assault.

Jamarr Zamora was arrested and charged in 2020 with three counts of sexual assault of a child. His trial was put on hold due to the pandemic, but became a high priority case.

“These sorts of cases that involve sexual assault of a child are always going to be ones that we pay special attention to,” Brian Price, first assistant district attorney, said.

Zamora entered an ‘open’ plea to the charges. This means he admitted guilt, but there was no plea agreement in place for a lesser sentence.

District court Judge John Youngblood handed him the maximum sentence of 20 years for each charge, which he’ll serve concurrently.

“It was just, it’s an emotional moment. I’ve had several meetings with the victims and their families over the course of this and those are always emotional. But to have that closure, I think everybody was really pleased,” Price said.

Price, who has four children of his own, said these cases hit close to home.

”To have somebody get sentenced, especially a sentence like this, and I can tell them, ‘Hey, the judge, the jury, they all believe you,’ it matters a lot,” he said.

Advocates said that his crimes are a reminder of how quickly child exploitation can happen online. Zamora met his victims through social media apps before arranging to meet up in person.

Unbound Now, an advocacy group for victims of human trafficking, said these apps make it easier for children to come in contact with predators.

“They all have a certain vulnerability to them, especially for our kids. I tell parents all the time, you know, talk to your children about what’s going on,” Outreach Coordinator Christine Labertew said.

Price said that he wants Zamora’s sentencing to send a message in Milam County.

“People that hurt children like this, it’s not going to be tolerated here. And that, I mean, we’re going to go after these people and after high sentences like this,” he said.

Zamora is also facing unrelated charges in Brazos County for similar instances in 2022, where police said he assaulted two underage girls he met on social media.

Court records show he’s set to appear in front of a judge on those charges in February.