San Angelo Man Sentenced for S*xual Assault of a Child in Plea Deal

SAN ANGELO— A San Angelo man has taken a plea deal for sexually abusing a child over a long period of time.  

John Emerson Custer, 48, has pleaded guilty to three counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in a deal with the District Attorney's office that sends him to prison.

According to court documents, on April 25, 2022, the mother of the child victim received information that her daughter was being sexually abused by the defendant, identified as Custer. The couple were living together in San Angelo and had moved to Texas from Georgia in March 2021.

The child’s mother found the girl at a park in Carlsbad, Texas with Custer and removed her from the scene. The woman stated that she heard him tell the child, “Don’t tell anybody what we did” or “Don’t tell anybody what we do”. The victim said that Custer had been sexually abusing her for a long time and that he had gotten mad when she tried to stop him.

During a forensic interview, the child stated that Custer had abused her three times since she made the move to Texas. All three occurred inside a residence and had happened about six months apart.

Custer was arrested on April 29, 2022, and was released on June 2, 2023, after posting $751,000 bond. Then, he was arrested again on March 7, 2024, for his sentence to begin. In exchange for a guilty plea, Custer was sentenced to 23 years in prison.