Hardin v. State

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice ROSS.

Francis M. Hardin, Jr. was convicted of sexual assault of a child, a felony of the second degree. 1 The victim was his stepdaughter, Kristy Brown (a pseudonym).

After filing an election for the jury to assess punishment and an application for community supervision, Hardin entered a plea of guilty. The trial court duly admonished him and accepted his plea. He again pled guilty before the jury, and at the conclusion of this unitary trial, the court instructed the jury to find Hardin guilty and to assess his punishment within the range prescribed by law. The jury…