"Jane Doe" - 9 yo /Autistic (2007) - Accused: Dwayne Billings - Odessa TX

Dwayne Dale Billings, charged in connection with the aggravated
sexual assault and kidnapping of a 9-year-old girl in January 2007, on
Friday had one count against him dropped because it was nearly identical
as another charge.

The jury selection for the trial is set to start Tuesday morning.

Prosecuting
attorney Scott Layh said charges of aggravated sexual assault by
penetration and aggravated sexual assault by contact are "duplicitous,"
so the district attorney's office will drop prosecution of aggravated
sexual assault by penetration.

“You can’t have one without the other,” Layh said.

Billings,
26, who was squinting as he entered the courtroom because his glasses
were broken, remains charged with three counts of aggravated sexual
assault of a child and aggravated kidnapping.

The aggravated kidnapping charge is part of a separate case, but will be tried with the aggravated sexual assault charges.

The sexual assault charges refer to the same incident but are based on different forms of contact.

A
9-year-old autistic girl was reported missing at about 7:40 p.m. Jan.
3, 2007, from West Odessa. An anonymous tip led Ector County Sheriff’s
Office deputies to Billings’ house at about 7:10 a.m. the next day.

Deputies arrested Billings in connection with the kidnapping and also charged him with aggravated sexual assault.

Hundreds
of searchers gathered at Odessa College erupted into cheers when it was
announced she was found, the Odessa American reported in a previous
story.

Sheriff Mark Donaldson personally helped look for the girl, a search that took about 11-and-a-half hours.

Judge
John Smith said he plans on instructing the jurors as best he can about
the processes of a criminal trial, but also will add that the trial
could last into a second week, something he said is out of the ordinary
for normally speedy Texas trials.

Smith also said in reference to Billings’ broken glasses that he would contact Donaldson to have them fixed.

WHAT HAPPENED?
>> Dwayne Dale Billings,
then 21, was arrested Jan. 4, 2007, in connection with the
disappearance of a 9-year-old autistic girl. The girl was found after
going missing for 11 1/2 hours. Billings was charged with aggravated
sexual assault of a child and faces up to life in prison if
convicted.
>> In interviews with the Odessa American,
Billings admitted to having sex with the girl, whom he met behind
Thrift World, 2031 Andrews Highway. But he said it was only after she
threatened him with a weapon.
>> Billings has served seven years in Texas Youth Commission facilities after being convicted of "indecency with a child by sexual contact" in a 1998 incident with a 4-year-old girl.
>> He was found competent to stand trial in October 2010 after being sent to North Texas State Hospital in Vernon when he was found not competent in July 2008.
>> Billings was cited as an example by those seeking the passage of Jessica's Law.
Last year, the Texas Legislature passed the law, which imposes a
minimum 25-year sentence for sexually violent offenses against
children under 14 years old and eliminates parole eligibility of
certain sex offenders.