On Friday, July 22, 2016, Michael Garnet McGraw, 53, of Sherman pled guilty to one count of Injury To A Child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. McGraw was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for a separate charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine. The sentences will be served concurrently.
The Injury to a Child charge stems from a 2013 report of a 13 year old girl to authorities in Omaha, Nebraska, that she had been sexually assaulted on several occasions by McGraw during the time the girl lived in Grayson County, several years before. The girl, whose family lived in Denison during the years 2005 and 2006, reported the incident to Nebraska law enforcement, who in turn contacted the Sherman police department. The girl reported that she was a friend of McGraw’s daughter and that the incidents took place when she would spend the night at McGraw’s home.
McGraw was originally charged with 5 counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in April of 2015, but reached a plea agreement with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office the week before he was to stand trial for the charges.
“We consulted at length with the family of the girl who was the victim in this case, and they felt strongly that this was a good outcome of the case,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown. “Mr. McGraw will be in prison for at least 10 years, and potentially more. We avoid the uncertainty of a trial and appellate issues, and the young lady does not have to go through the difficulty of a trial and re-living this experience. Anytime you reach a plea agreement, both sides have to give something up in order to make it work, but this is a significant prison sentence.”
The Injury to a Child charge to which McGraw pled guilty was a first degree felony, punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine. McGraw will be eligible for parole after 10 years in prison.
The charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine, arose from an incident in October of 2012 when McGraw was stopped by a Grayson County Sheriff’s Deputy for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of 2 grams of Methamphetamine.
Assistant District Attorney Matt Johnson prosecuted the case. McGraw was represented by Sherman attorneys Keith Brown and Pamela McGraw.