Man Gets Life for Series of Attacks on Women That Had Denton on Edge

A Denton man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for a string of break-ins near the University of North Texas last year in which women were sexually assaulted.A jury sentenced Earl Leroy Thompson Jr. to life in prison Friday on each of three counts of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit a felony. The sentences will run concurrently.Thompson, 33, has been in custody since his arrest June 3, more than three months after the first attack in a spree that had students and nearby residents on alert.According to an arrest-warrant affidavit, Thompson forced his way into the first victim's apartment in the 2200 block of West Oak Street the night of Feb. 23. Police said he sexually assaulted and choked the woman, then took her cellphone.Early May 3, a woman awoke and discovered Thompson in the doorway of her bedroom in the 1600 block of West Oak Street. She told police he choked her and tried to sexually assault her before running off.On May 16, a woman who lived in the 2300 block of West Hickory Street woke up around 4 a.m. and found a man on top of her. He groped her, put his hands on her neck and then ran off, the affidavit said.Authorities suspected Thompson in those cases and other instances of prowling in the area, and they began surveilling him that day. On several occasions they reported seeing him looking in the windows of homes and apartment complexes.  Continue reading...

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