Burk man got prison time for sexually assaulting two children younger than 12

Trish Choate | Wichita

A 64-year-old Burkburnett man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison Thursday in 89th District Court for sexually assaulting two young girls at his home, court records showed.

William Meninno got 10 years in prison for two charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 14, court documents showed.

Eleven other charges of child sex crimes against Meninno were dismissed as part of a plea bargain, according to court records.

His convictions were for aggravated sexual assaults on April 20, 2016, and Feb. 1, 2017, according to court records.

The first-degree felonies are punishable by up to life in prison.

Meninno was still being held Friday in Wichita County Jail.

Arrest warrant affidavits gave this account: Wichita Falls police contacted Burkburnett police about an outcry of sexual abuse Feb. 4 from a student at John Tower Elementary School.

The initial investigation determined the allegations involved a residence in Burkburnett.

The mother of the two victims told police Meninno has lived in Burkburnett at least 20 years and had threatened the two girls not to tell anyone.

Around the end of December, the woman's husband noticed something was wrong with the girls and asked what was going on. That's when the allegations came to light.

According to the woman, Meninno showed up while they were talking to the girls about the assaults and was told to leave and never come back.

The girls were forensically interviewed at Patsy's House Child Advocacy Center.

The older girl said Meninno began sexually abusing her when she was around 9 years old, and he "kept doing it every time (they went to his house) – progressing – doing it more often."

She said she had talked to her younger sister about the assaults. Both knew "it was going to happen" when one of them went into his bedroom and he shut the door.

The older girl said he would give her money if she went into the bedroom with him. Every time she wanted Meninno to do or give her something, he would make her "do it."

She said the abuse finally stopped when she was 11. The older girl said she figured out "if I keep going over there, he will keep doing it."

The younger girl also disclosed incidents of abuse to the forensic interviewer. The younger girl said Meninno would pick them up to stay the night during the summer.

The younger girl said he would call just her into his bedroom, take off all their clothes and force her to perform sexual acts with and on him.

The younger girl said the abuse started when she was 6 and continued until she was 8.

More: Sexual assault victim: North Texas man would 'keep doing it' if she kept going over there

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. She loves getting news tips. If you have a good one, contact Trish at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.