A man pleaded guilty before District Judge John Fostel Wednesday morning and accepted a plea deal of 50 years in prison for sexual assault of an elderly woman in Newark last summer.
Bobby R. Foley
Bobby R. Foley, 27, of Bridgeport, broke into a 71-year-old woman’s house in the middle of the night on July 3, 2011. Foley knew the victim’s grandson, who was living with her at the time, and he knew he had left the house earlier that evening. Knowing she was home alone, Foley proceeded to assault the woman in her bed.
“It was a violent assault in the middle of the night after he broke into her home,” said Assistant District Attorney Lindy Borchardt. “She couldn’t breathe. She thought she was going to die.”
Investigators with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office obtained DNA evidence linking Foley to the crime.
“Due to an excellent investigation by (Sgt. Investigator) Carolyn Copeland with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, she was able to match (Foley’s) DNA with evidence obtained at the crime scene,” Borchardt said.
Texas Ranger Jim Holland also assisted in the investigation.
The DNA evidence also linked Foley to the sexual assault of a 33-year-old woman in Fort Worth in 2005. The modus operandi was similar to the assault in Newark.
In the Fort Worth case, Foley allegedly broke into a woman’s house and sexually assaulted her at about 4 a.m. just after her boyfriend had left for work.
The woman woke up in the dark and initially thought her boyfriend had returned. Her surprise soon turned to terror when she realized there was a stranger in her bed.
Foley will be transported to Tarrant County for that case.
Sexual assault of an elderly or disabled person is a first-degree felony punishable by a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. Foley must serve half his 50-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.
He was arrested at his home in Bridgeport on Sept. 25, 2011, by Bridgeport police officers for the Newark assault. Prior to that he had a string of arrests by Decatur police and Wise County sheriff’s deputies for minor offenses such as theft of less than $50, minor in consumption of alcohol, burglary, possession of marijuana, assault and possession of drug paraphernalia.
