A Tulia man has been handed a 30-year sentence by the Texas Department of Corrections for sickening crimes against a child, his own niece. James Mark Bishop, aged 52, submitted a guilty plea to two charges of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and Sexual Performance of a Child. The sentencing, which took place on August 28 was presided over by the Honorable Kregg Hukill of the 242nd District Court in Swisher County, this according to a release from the Texas Attorney General's Office.
Bishop, a previously convicted sex offender from Oklahoma, was revealed to have been living in Tulia and working as a truck driver at the time of the abuses, which began when the victim was 12 years old. The Texas Attorney General's Office also unearthed that while evading capture for these despicable acts, Bishop was simultaneously outrunning the law on a prior sentence in Oklahoma connected with Knowingly Downloading Child Pornography, which led to the revocation of his parole. Bishop's run from justice started when fled Texas, transforming into a near-year-long evasion before getting nabbed by U.S. Marshals in Oregon and extradited back to Texas in 2022.
The investigation into Bishop's actions was a combined effort led by Sgt. Brian Seales of the Texas Attorney General's Office and the Tulia Police Department. Assistant Attorney General Brenda Cantu prosecuted the case and Swisher County Attorney Amy McAtee assisted in the legal proceedings, as the Texas Attorney General's Office stated.
Prior to his 30-year sentence in Texas, Bishop had already been handed a 33-year prison term in Oklahoma for child pornography charges and a further 10 years in federal prison for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. These sentences, both served and pending, paint a picture of Bishop's extensive criminal history and the continued efforts of law enforcement to uphold justice for the most vulnerable victims.
