BEAUMONT — A 52-year-old Beaumont man was sentenced to 45 years after pleading guilty to three cases of aggravated sexual assault of a child on Tuesday.

Judge Raquel West followed the plea agreement between the state and Grant and handed down the sentencing, according to a news release from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

On Nov. 12, 2018, an 8-year-old girl returned home from an outing with Grant. The victim’s mother noticed something wrong with the child and asked her what happened. The child made an outcry that Grant had sexually abused her earlier that day. The mother then questioned her other children, a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl and they also made outcries of previous sexual abuse by Grant.

The mother then took the victims to Baptist Hospital for a forensic medical exam and police were notified. The 8-year-old had an acute injury to her anus, the DA’s office said. All three victims were later interviewed at the Garth House, where they gave details regarding their ongoing abuse.

Based on information provided by the victims during their interviews, detectives with the Beaumont Police Department obtained a search warrant for a storage unit where Grant had been taking the children. During the search, detectives found evidence of sexual abuse including panties, condoms and a pallet on the floor.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Hobbs Duchamp and investigated by Beaumont Police Det. Darrell Lebeouf.

Grant was originally indicted for three cases of continuous sexual abuse of a child on May 30, 2018. The plea agreement reached between the state and Grant allowed him to plead guilty to three first-degree felony offenses of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The agreement allowed the victims to avoid testifying at trail, which can further traumatize victims, prosecutors said.

“The plea also ensures that Grant will never be able to harm another child,” according to the news release.

Grant must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole when he is 73 years old in 2040. However, parole is not a guarantee and sex offenders typically serve a greater percentage of their sentence than other offenders.