10 years ago

Panhandle – On Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, two pleas took place in Carson County, Texas, which resulted in the conviction and sentence of Christopher Lee Sookraj.

Luke Inman, the District Attorney for the 100th Judicial District, prosecuted the cases for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Christopher Lee Sookraj was convicted of the first degree felony offense of aggravated sexual assault of a disabled individual and was sentenced to 39 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Sookraj, 31-year-old of Childress, was arrested on Dec. 10, 2013 and was indicted by a Childress County Grand Jury on March 4, 2014 for multiple first and second degree counts of sexual assault and indecency with a child.

“This defendant received a long sentence for the sexual acts he performed on two young females,” said Inman. “This plea was for our victims who had to undergo multiple instances of sexual abuse at the hands of this predator and courageously came forward and stuck with us throughout this stressful process.”

Seven felony counts were scheduled for a jury trial in Childress beginning Sept. 3, 2014. Foregoing that trial, a plea deal was struck early Monday morning.

“These trials are difficult for everyone involved, especially the victims and victims’ family members,” said Inman. “We would not have been successful in this plea without their support. In addition to having the victim’s support, the Childress Police Department under Chief Ottis Garcia and Detective Landon Johnson should be commended on their efforts in moving so quickly and thoroughly in this investigation.”

Sookraj was also convicted for the second degree felony offense of sexual assault and was sentenced to 20 years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ.

Sookraj was indicted by a Childress County Grand Jury for this offense on Aug. 6, 2014. Sookraj will also have to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life once released from prison.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort put forth by our office and the DA’s office in arriving at this outcome for this heinous offense, said Johnson. “I truly feel justice was served.”

Pursuant to the plea Sookraj is required to pay $801 in court costs.